Starf University: Cronicles of the Beginning
by Acooler1
Summary: Everyone who knows about Pokemon wonders at some point what it would be like if Pokemon existed in the real world. What if it happened to a group of college students? Follow Sean and his friends and foes as they experience this phenomenon first-hand!
1. Introductions Should Be Made

**Author's Note: Hey everyone! This is Acooler1 speaking. Welcome to the second story I've written-- _Starf University: Cronicles of the Beginning_! If you've read the introduction on the previous page, you apparently know what the story is about and you're interested. The mere fact that you're on this page tells me that. **

**A couple of reminders: This is a "M" rated fic. That means there will be language, there will be mature situations, and there will be-- say it with me-- **

**LEMONS! In later chapters.**

**There might be half of a lemon in chapter 2. Ha ha!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Only the OCs that appear all over this story. **

**Well, I hope I don't disappoint you guys. ****Here's Chapter 1. Leave a review and tell me what you think!**

* * *

Chapter 1: Introductions Should Be Made

"I _hate_ Graveler!"

On the top floor of the six story Kelpsy dorms of Starf University, Sean Freshwater is lying on his bed holding his Nintendo DS above his head. Currently, he's wearing an annoyed look on his face because yet _another_ wild Graveler had the nerve to use Selfdestruct on his Marill. He just used his last Revive, too.

Sighing, he says, "Well, at least Linoone is holding something. Let's see… Oh! A Rare Candy! Perfect!" Immediately, he takes it from Linoone and uses it on his Marill, leveling it up to Level 27.

_Marill wants to learn the move Double-Edge. But, Marill already knows four moves. Delete a move to learn Double-Edge?_

"Hmm… why not."

_Which move should be forgotten?_

Sean scans his blue eyes over the moves that Marill already knows. "Okay… Tackle, BubbleBeam, Aqua Ring, and Rollout. This is a no-brainer."

_1, 2, and… Poof!_

_Marill forgot the move Aqua Ring._

"What?"

_And…_

"Man!"

_Marill learned Double-Edge!_

"I was trying to forget Tackle," Sean explained to himself. "Well, nothing a Heart Scale can't fix next time. I guess I'll explore this campus a little bit more."

After saving the game, Sean reaches over to put his Nintendo DS on his tabletop. Getting out of bed, he glances at himself in the large mirror before he deems himself ready to leave. A guy with cream-colored skin, height 5'11", wearing a blue Hawaiian shirt with blue jeans stares back at him. Sean and his mirror image look over each other's blue hair, each preferring the wild, unruly style they both supported. Sean looks down at his blue shoes to make sure they're clean as well. An orange kanji symbol self-stitched on his shirt over where his heart would be offsets all of the blue he is wearing.

Still… if he was lost in the middle of the ocean— or a simple aquarium, for that matter— anybody would be hard-pressed to find him.

Sean walks out of his room, making doubly sure that he has his wallet, his card key to his room, and his cell phone in his pockets before leaving. Taking the elevator to the first floor and passing the viewing room where four people have a PS3 hooked up to the large television, he steps outside to green trees and sweltering heat. Sean never liked the heat; he preferred to be cool like his room, like his attitude most of the time.

After three minutes of aimless walking, he finds a spot of interest. _Aguav Café. Now featuring Starbucks!_ That's what Sean reads on the poster outside of said establishment. Smiling and suddenly feeling the need for a Vanilla Bean Frappucino, Sean walks inside to a sparsely populated, caramel-colored interior, and places his order.

Three minutes later, Sean exits out and sits at one of the tables on the shop's patio, enjoying the cold beverage and thinking about how to make the most out of his freshman year.

* * *

_"Um, Professor Dogwood?"_

_A well-dressed, blond-haired man in his mid-thirties, Professor Dogwood looks up from the poetry he is writing from his desk. A young girl's face breached the crack in his door, green eyes staring at his red orbs and silently asking for permission to enter, which Professor Dogwood gives with a hand gesture. _

_Smiling, the girl opens the door wider so that she can enter. Wendy O'Dell is one of the many freshmen who are about to (hopefully) enjoy their first year at Starf University. Standing 5'8", Wendy's hairstyle sports two braided pigtails that trail past her shoulders; each has a white ribbon at the end. Her plain, grey shirt covers two 40 FF breasts, usually a source of embarrassment for the young girl. A five minute walk from her room in the Hondew dorms to the professor's office earned her more than enough catcalls from perverts to last a lifetime. Wendy does the simple thing: she ignores them completely. A grey skirt and white tennis shoes complete her attire._

_Wendy sits down and prepares for the explanation that's sure to come from this conversation._

"_Well, Professor, introductions should be made. Wendy O'Dell, General Writing 101 from 10:00 to 11:00 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday."_

"_Hmm, let's see…" Putting aside his poem in progress, Professor Dogwood searches through the roll for one of his classes to make sure Wendy's name is on the list and it indeed is on there. "Yep, I see you right here. So, I assume the reason for your visit is because you have some concerns about my class?"_

"_Yes, she does."_

"_Who?" the professor asks, confused by Wendy's choice of words._

"_She does," says Wendy, pointing to herself. "This is what she wanted to talk to him about."_

_Professor Dogwood quickly caught on. "The fact that you always speak in third-person?" To this, Wendy nods her head. He then says, "Well, this is unusual. But I will tell you right here and now, if you're going to address someone directly, it's a lot better to use first-person pronouns."_

"_He doesn't understand," says Wendy, now shaking her head. She's been through this before with so many people, but it still hurts her every time. "Wendy is completely incapable of speaking in first-person."_

"_Is that a fact? How did that happen? Is that how you were raised? …No, no, that can't be it; they teach this stuff in school."_

"_Well, Wendy should tell him her story if he doesn't believe her. It all started one day when Wendy was in the fifth grade. She was walking home from school, when one of those high school guys came up to Wendy and offered her to… show her firsthand the wonders of sex." Wendy inwardly cringes at her recollection. "Wendy resisted his advances, saying that she's too young for that, but the guy wouldn't give up on her. At one point Wendy threatened to scream; the guy left her alone then. Wendy started running home, but it wasn't even ten seconds before she got hit in the back of her head with something hard._

"_When Wendy woke up, she was in a hospital bed, and remembered immediately what happened to her before blacking out. The only problem was… She couldn't say… say…" Wendy struggled immensely to say the pronouns 'I' and 'you' for what seemed like the millionth time in her life to her, but unable to do so, hung her head down instead. "She hasn't been able to speak in first-person since that incident. Doctors concluded that Wendy got hit in the head with a piece of brick, damaging the area of her brain that deals with speech."_

"_You were hit with piece of brick!?" Professor Dogwood didn't know whether or not to believe Wendy's story or not, but anyone who had the nerve to throw bricks at children had problems in society and had to be put in their place. "Did they ever catch him?" he asked earnestly._

"_Yes sir. He was charged with child abuse and sentenced to prison for… Wendy can't remember exactly, but it was for a long time," Wendy explained."But because of what he did, Wendy wasn't… normal anymore. She has been ostracized from just about everyone she knows, simply because she didn't speak like everyone else. Students constantly teased her and she was always the laughingstock of the school every time she opened her mouth to speak. Even the English teachers grew frustrated and dreaded having to deal with Wendy every time she walked in class. At one point, some of them requested that Wendy be put in "special" classes simply because of her speech deficiency. But, it was at the insistence of her family and two other students that kept Wendy in her regular classes." Stopping to recollect her thoughts, Wendy sighs loudly in front of her professor, who decides to talk to the dean himself later on today. "Wendy just wanted Professor Dogwood to know what to expect out of her from the first day onward."_

"_I see... Wendy, I'm not sure I wholly believe your story, to tell you the truth," he explains. "But if in fact you are telling the truth, I will proceed to make special pains concerning your case. If you are caught lying on your papers in here or in any other class, you can and will be terminated from the university."_

"_But Wendy is telling the truth! She swears it! And why would she _want_ to lie about this?" _

_Professor Dogwood smiles at Wendy as he says, "I'll talk to the dean about your situation as it stands. In the meanwhile, I expect your papers to not lack in any other aspect. In my class, I expect the best that my students are fully capable of pushing themselves to. Oops, I finished my sentence with a preposition! I'm not supposed to do that considering I'm an English teacher…"_

"_Even teachers can relax once in a while when they're not in class working." Professor Dogwood and Wendy turned to the door to see a young silver-haired woman with a golden-eyed stare directed towards the man sitting behind his desk before she steps through the doorway._

"_Oh, Professor Pine," the man says. "You're early."_

"_I'm not early, you're late by ten minutes," Professor Pine says with a smile on her face. "It's not nice to keep women waiting, you know."_

"_I know. I was just having a chat with one of my students."_

"_Oh, is that right?" Professor Pine turns her attention to Wendy and smiles. "He's a pretty good teacher, I'll have you know."_

"_You know because you walk in on my class all the time. We're not even in the same department. You teach Biology!" _

Wendy has a class in Biology by a Professor Pine, _thinks Wendy. _Is that her?

"_Well, I… need you for certain things, ba… Professor."_

"_Of course you do. By the way, we are still good for tonight."_

"_Oh, goodie!" said Professor Pine, eyes glistening like a little schoolgirl. "What time?"_

"_How's 8:30 sound?"_

"_I'll be waiting on you," said the woman as she headed towards the door. "See you later, Douglas." She stopped and turned around to face him. "Or should I say… D.D."_

_Professor (Douglas) Dogwood can only hide his head in his hands in embarrassment as Professor Pine laughs while walking off, her heels clicking on the wooden floor. "That Silvia…" he says to himself. She had the nerve to use his pet name (which aggravated him so) in front of one of his students!_

_Seriously, does she _want_ everyone to think they were dating?_

* * *

"This is the life!" proclaimed Sean, reclining on the chair he is sitting on. Still with the half-finished frappucino in his hand, and his eyes closed, he feels he can talk out loud, confident that there is nobody around. "A Vanilla Bean Frappucino, no class until tomorrow… I don't think it can get any better."

No sooner than he said that, however, he felt a pair of lips plant a kiss on his forehead. Sean opened his eyes instantly, half-wondering who could have done it, and half-surprised that he never noticed the person. His turquoise eyes instantly met with a pair of warm emerald eyes.

"I take that back. It _did_ get better all of a sudden. Hey, Wendy."

"Hi, Sean," Wendy replied, moving to get a chair to sit next to him. Sean is one of the few people that can understand Wendy no matter what she says, the only other people being her best friend and her own family. The two have been secret admirers of each other ever since the ninth grade at Leppa High School, but it was only after Wendy asked Sean to go with her to the senior prom that the two have been considered close. As of now, they are boyfriend and girlfriend in every aspect except name. As for that, they _would_ be if not for some hesitation on Sean's part…

"Wendy half-expected to find Sean here," explained Wendy, "knowing he likes quiet places and all."

"What made you think I would be outside of my room?" questioned Sean.

"She was hoping to see him so badly before class started tomorrow."

"Hmm…well, you must've been wishing pretty hard. You settled in a lot later than I expected, and you didn't even call."

"Wendy meant to call, but her phone needed to charge. The battery was totally empty when she got settled in," Wendy explained.

"It's okay."

"Oh, Wendy likes that Kanji on Sean's shirt. What does it say?"

"Belief," Sean says with a smile. "You know, one of these days, you should come over to my room so we can hang out."

"What about Sean's roommate?"

"There is none," Sean happily replied. "I can do what I want and not have to respect someone else's privacy in my room. Plus, I don't need to designate times when I can invite my future friends over for a movie of a gaming session or something. …Well, the friends I _will_ make. You, I know you like to play Pokémon every now and then. I just recently bought _Pokémon Battle Revolution_ for my Wii."

"Oh, that's cool! And as for his future friends, Sean will make plenty of them," Wendy reassured him. "College is that time in a person's life where a person meets people of all kinds of attitudes, beliefs, and styles, whatever. Take Wendy's roommate, Cinnamon."

"Wait. Cinnamon is her real name?" asked Sean.

"That's what she said. Cinnamon is a junior here. She'll turn twenty-one in a couple of weeks. She also has a habit of using phrases dealing with food. Like, one time she said that she and Wendy can be like 'peas in a pod' if they really wanted to be. Get it?"

"Wow… you have an interesting roommate. I'll probably meet her one of these days. Oh, hey, what is your class schedule like?"

"Let Wendy think… well, her first class is Biology from 8:45 to 9:45 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from Professor Pine."

"That's awesome, Wendy. We'll be sharing the same Biology class!" exclaimed Sean, which caused Wendy to smile. "You will sit next to me, right?"

"Sean didn't even have to ask for that."

"Professor Pine… I wonder what he's like."

"Sean means what 'she's' like," corrected Wendy. "Wendy had met her at the same time she was discussing her speech problem with her English teacher. She has this beautiful silver hair and golden eyes. Wendy guesses anyone could say that she's every guy's ideal 'hot teacher.' Oh, and Wendy thinks that Professor Pine is dating her English teacher."

To this set of news, Sean bursts out in laughter. "Wouldn't it be awkward if a student caught the two of them making out in one of the classrooms late at night? Still, the way you talk about her makes me want to see her for myself."

"What, Wendy's not good enough for Sean?" questions Wendy with a hint of mock jealousy in her voice.

"Jumping to conclusions, Wendy. I just want to see if she's as hot as you claim she is. I have a good idea of what a 'hot teacher' would be like, myself."

"Really? Do tell."

Urged on by Wendy, Sean, with his chin cupped in his right hand and eyes looking towards the cloudless sky, begins to unravel details. "She would be about your height, with a gorgeous figure and an equally gorgeous mind. Pigtails, sexy green eyes, well-endowed, and… this is most important… she would have a unique speech pattern."

"Aww, Sean thinks Wendy would be a hot teacher?" asked Wendy, making it painfully obvious that she knew he was describing her.

"Hell yeah. You would be a hot anything. There's not a hotter girl in the universe."

"Oh, stop it, Sean," Wendy tells him, all the while blushing like mad. "Wendy's not that special."

"You are to me. And no, I won't stop. I'll _never_ stop," he proclaims, staying true to his feelings from four years ago onward.

* * *

Floyd Spears, Jr. A 6'1" young man with long, wild, curly red hair with the plain red shirt to match. Tan pants and black shoes complete the transfer's outfit. Since coming over from Micle University, Floyd has taken to exploring the campus every day so that he'll know where his classes were before class starts tomorrow. He is currently reaching in his pocket to grab his cell phone to call his best friend and ask her to walk around with him again like she did yesterday. Knowing Wendy, she'll probably oblige him, like always.

After taking it out, he notices something blue catch his eye.

_Is it him?_ He thinks.

It better not be him, for that guy's sake.

He turns to get a closer look at the person who caught his attention. Unfortunately, he cannot deny the short, unruly hair, and all of the blue the guy is wearing. His archenemy for life was walking towards the Kelpsy dorms, right across the sidewalk from the Qualot dorms from which _he_ stayed.

_That muthafucker! What the hell is _he_ doing here?_ Floyd thinks. Wendy never told him about this guy attending the same university as he now does. He takes a quick glance at his surroundings._ No security cameras; that's good. Well, concerning him, there only one thing to do in a situation like this. _

_Time to hunt some prey. The Freshwater kind._

Floyd tucks his cell phone in his pocket and begins to run up a hill, making a beeline towards Sean.

"Freshwater!" he screams, earning a few stares in his direction.

Sean, half-finished frappucino in hand, turns around to get a look at the person who called him out. _Spears!? What is _that_ asshole doing here? Wendy never said anything about him attending._

"Getcha ass up and fight!" Floyd taunts.

Sean inwardly sighs. _Well, of course she wouldn't say anything about him. He is her best friend after all. Well, let's get this over with. Hopefully I'll win._

Tossing the half-finished drink straight up in the air, Sean watches Floyd rapidly close the distance between them and throw a hard left hook towards him, which he catches easily. Sean then ducks quickly right before his drink lands directly on Floyd's head, its contents spilling out unto his face and into his hair.

_What the fu—_

POW!

Floyd, caught off guard, never got to finish his thought as Sean comes back up with an uppercut straight into Floyd's jaw followed by a swift roundhouse kick, making Floyd stumble backwards before losing his balance and tumbling down the hill which he had ran up in order to face Sean.

Sean takes a moment to relish his victory over his nemesis, who is sprawled out at the bottom of the hill covered in frappucino and grass. _Sean, 8; Floyd, 15, _he thinks, marking his internal scoreboard. _I still have a while before I can catch up to him. I never really expected the 'Starbucks Surprise' trick to actually work. But now that Floyd is here, we'll be picking up from where we left off from high school. Sorry, Wendy… the reason why I can't… Well, I just knocked out the reason why I can't._

Sean, after picking up the container which held the frappucino and dumping it in a nearby trash can, proceeds to walk towards his room, getting a few stares along the way. Meanwhile a crowd has surrounded Floyd, who is just lying there at the edge of the hill, shocked. _What the hell just happened? Dammit, I was supposed to win! I've got enough muscle in me to haul that guy halfway across campus, and he gets me with a drink!? What are the chances of that thing actually hitting me in the head?_

"Dude, you just got your ass kicked by that blue guy," said one of the spectators, who is struggling to suppress a laugh. "Just thought you should know."

"Fuck off, man," yells Floyd, causing the guy and some of his friends to burst out in laughter while walking away. As the crowd dissipates, Floyd manages to pull himself up and sit himself on a low brick wall which encloses a flower patch. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees a girl walk up to him and offer her hand.

"Are you alright?" she asks worriedly.

Floyd looks up, and his eyes begin to widen.

_Whoa, who's the ebony goddess?_

The 5' 6" 'ebony goddess,' so termed by Floyd, has her brown hair tied in a donut behind her head. She's wearing a brown shirt that says, "Does strawberry milk come from pink cows?" Black pants, white shoes, and looking back up, Floyd sees eyes as brown as his.

Floyd takes the attractive stranger's hand and she pulls him up. "I know what you're going to say," he begins. "That guy messed me up good, didn't he?"

"Nothing I can't fix. Hold still," she commands. Floyd does so as she reaches into a beige purse to take out a number of paper napkins. She first proceeds to clean Floyd's dirt and grass-streaked face, and then his hair. After a minute, she brushes off his clothes until she deems him presentable. Throwing the napkins in a nearby waste basket, she reaches in her purse again, to take out some strawberry fragrance; she then sprays some in Floyd's hair.

"What's with the fragrance?" asks Floyd.

"Can't have you smelling like Starbucks now, can we? And you remind me of a strawberry with the red hair, so I thought I could make you smell like one when I was done," the girl explains. "You like?"

Floyd, oddly, didn't feel any reason to say he _didn't_ like it. Maybe it was because of her. "It's not bad," he says. Brushing himself off for a quick moment, he says, "Thanks for the help."

"Piece of cake."

"By the way, what's your name?"

"It's Cinnamon. Cinnamon Dodgers."

"Cinnamon? That's an unusual name for a goddess."

Cinnamon's eyes lit up. "What did you just call me?"

Floyd wished he had better control over his thoughts; he never meant to blurt it out to her. But since he was a bad liar anyway, he decided to stick with the truth. "I… called you a goddess… You're not offended, are you?"

"At being called a goddess? Please." She replied, and Floyd felt a breath of relief leave his throat…

"Though I can't believe that someone as handsome as you would think so highly of me during our first meeting."

…only for Floyd to catch it back in his throat. Did Cinnamon think he was attractive as well? _I thought she was only doing this to be a Good Samaritan._

"By the way, what's your name?" Cinnamon inquired.

"Uh… Floyd. Floyd Spears, Jr."

"Floyd, then. Listen, do you believe in love at first sight?"

"…Yeah."

"That makes two of us. It looks like something good came out of the oven due to that guy in blue kicking your butt. Now I have someone to accompany me to dinner. That is, if you don't have any other plans…" Cinnamon clasped her hands behind her back and swiveled her body from side to side, putting on her shy face while staring up at him. She sincerely wished that he would say…

"Nah, I'm free for the day. So, it's a date, then?"

"It's a date, then," confirms Cinnamon, smiling up at him. "I know this place just off campus. Walk with me there?"

"Sure," responds Floyd, offering his arm. Cinnamon wraps her own arm around it, and the two proceed to fill their stomachs and have a good time.

Floyd makes a mental note to thank Sean later. _Sean… even when I lose, I _still _win!_

* * *

**So, tell me, what did you think? Did you like the story so far? Any problems? Comments? Rants? **

**I accept flames, too; those will be directed towards the chuck roast right next to me.**

**Leave a review, alright? I need to know what people think. This is Acooler1, signing off till next time.**


	2. Reflections

Chapter 2: Reflections

_Rrriiiiiiing!_

Groaning with sleepiness after waking up from her nap, Wendy reaches up and grabs the abominable ringing phone from the top of the small drawer right next to her bed. She looks on the caller ID to find out who would rouse her awake.

Sean.

_Rrriiiiiiing!_

Wendy couldn't keep herself from smiling. _Wendy knows he loves her, but did Sean really have to disturb her sleep?_ Most other times she would let the phone ring after hitting the 'quiet' button until someone reached her voicemail in a situation like this. But this was Sean. She was always interested when he wanted to talk to her. Pressing the 'talk' button on her phone, she puts it up to her ear and says in a sleepy but cheerful tone, "Hello, Sean."

"_Wendy, I… Were you asleep?"_

"Not anymore Sean, since he woke her up."

"_Oh, I'm sorry. I know how much you like to sleep," _he says with a chuckle._ "I'll just let you go and you can…"_

"Sean, it's okay. Really," Wendy interrupted. "What's up?"

Wendy heard a sigh from the other end before Sean says, _"I met Spears today."_

_Already!? Well, it's not like Starf is a really bug campus. Those two were bound to see each other. Especially since they both know her. But the day before class starts? _Setting aside her mental surprise, Wendy decides to get straight to the point. "So, who won, Wendy's best friend or her love interest?"

"_Your love interest. It's currently my eight to his fifteen,"_ Sean answered with an aggravated sigh. _"Did you know he was up here?"_

Wendy hoped he wouldn't ask that question. Floyd was her best friend; of course she knew that he was up here at Starf. In her mind, who would tell anyone that their best friend and love interest were in the same place, especially when they were both archenemies? Wendy herself has been a spectator to many of their fights, and she has been torn to bits that two people she cares so much about always have to butt heads.

"Well, Sean, the truth is… Wendy did know that Floyd was up here. But she didn't want anyone to…"

"_It figures,"_ interrupted Sean. _"Wendy, you don't have to explain yourself. You were just looking out for our best interests, is that right?"_

"Yes…"

Sean, understanding as always.

"_And I know you hate seeing us fight. But, fights between me and Spears are an even bigger guarantee than death." _Sean pointed out. _"Well, I wanted you to know that it looks like things are still going to be the same as high school, despite your intentions. See, what happened was that your best friend had the nerve to call me out after I walked you back to your room. But, lucky for us, the fight didn't even last for five seconds. Twenty-three fights and counting, and I still don't know why he hates me so much… Well, I think I have an idea why."_

"What is Sean thinking?"

"_Well, Sean's thinking that Floyd likes you as more than a best friend. Naturally, if that's true, any other guy would be seen as a threat to his possibility of a relationship with you. And considering how close we are already…"_

Wendy laughed. "It's not that, Sean. Floyd doesn't like her in that kind of way, and vice versa. If he did, Wendy _might_ have been his girlfriend already, don't you think?"

Sean grimaced at the thought. Brawl-happy Floyd… and Wendy? He couldn't live it down if he found out that they hooked up. _But then again, Wendy says she had a thing for me since the start of high school. And Floyd always hooked up with whatever popular girl he laid eyes on. His last ex… Ugh. His taste in girls is severely screwed up._

"_Hmm… I guess you're right, Wendy. Besides, anybody who hooked up in high school didn't need to tell anybody else because word would spread like wildfire drenched in oil. Still, I can't think of any other reason he would fight me so much. I don't even talk to him unless we have to work on some assignment together, and… this whole thing is stupid."_

"Oh, Sean," Wendy cooed.

"_I'll be alright. But this isn't going to stop until one of us feels he can't take anymore. Maybe if Floyd explains the reason why he fights me so much then I'll be able to solve the problem, whatever it is. But he wouldn't explain, not even for a million dollars, a mansion, and a law allowing polygamy with every hot girl in the world."_

"Polygamy? Does Sean really think about that?" questioned Wendy, dryly.

"_Sure, I always wanted to marry three girls: you, you, and you,"_ quipped Sean.

"But there can only be one Wendy, Sean. And she wants to be all his."

"_There's one problem: Floyd, your best friend. He won't approve, you know that."_

"Maybe Sean and Wendy can convince him…"

"_We tried that already, remember?" Sean sighed for the second time in two minutes. "He'll continue to fight me until the day one of us dies. When I fought him, there was a bit of a crowd watching. I embarrassed him in front of all of those people. He's not going to let that slide. If he sees me tomorrow— and he will, I'm sure of it—he and I will fight again. And maybe I can get to the bottom of all this once and for all."_

Sean suddenly burst into melancholy laughter, startling Wendy, which subsided after a few moments. _"I can't believe I'm optimistic about this…"_

"Sean, it's a good thing to be optimistic about a thing like this. You know what? Wendy is going to call Floyd when she gets the chance and ask him for Sean."

"_Hey, why didn't I think of that?"_ asked Sean. _"It makes sense. You're his best friend; he'll definitely open up to you if provoked long enough."_

"Mm-hmm. Alright. Wendy is going to call him and get his answer. After that, she'll call Sean right back."

"_Okay, Wendy. I'm counting on you."_

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

"Hold on just a second, Cinnamon; my phone's buzzing."

Floyd and Cinnamon have just finished dinner at Passho's, a quiet Italian restaurant only seven minutes walking distance from Starf University. Over dinner, the two inquired a great deal of each other, such as career paths (Floyd pursuing architecture and Cinnamon pursuing culinary arts), ages, family, and philosophies of life to little trivial things such as favorite colors and cartoon characters. They joked and just simply enjoyed each other's company.

It was a good hour and fifteen minutes into the date when Floyd had to take the phone out of his pocket and see who was calling him. "Hmm, it's Wendy. I didn't forget something important, did I?" As much as he enjoyed hanging out with Cinnamon, he would not hesitate to rush to his best friend if she needed him for anything important.

Pressing the 'call' button, he then holds it up to his ear. "Hey, Wendy. What's up?"

"_Um… is Floyd busy right now?" _was the reply.

"Well… to tell the truth, I'm kind of in the middle of a date right now. Is there a problem?"

A gasp came on Wendy's side of the phone. _"A date!? Floyd hasn't even been on this campus for a whole three days and he already has a date? How does he manage to keep attracting people?"_

"I just… do, I guess."

"_Well, Wendy wanted to ask him about something, but it'll have to wait, because Wendy doesn't want to ruin Floyd's good time… he _is _having a good time, right?"_

"Of course I am!" Floyd exclaimed. "And about what you said about ruining my good time… I'll talk to you about Freshwater when the date's over."

"_How did Floyd know what Wendy was going to…?"_

"Because he's the only reason that I would even _be_ in a bad mood. Actually, he's the reason why I'm on a date right now." Floyd explained.

"_Floyd means to tell Wendy that some girl went out with her because she was sympathetic to him getting his butt kicked?"_

"It's not just that! And how did you… Humph. I guess Freshwater told you about the fight already. Probably gloated about it, too."

"_No, no, he… Well, Wendy and Floyd will talk about it later. Floyd can't have his date waiting while he's on the phone now."_

"Yeah, we'll talk about it later, okay? 'Till then."

"_Bye, Floyd."_ And with a click, Wendy was gone.

"So, Freshwater's his name?" Cinnamon inquired after regaining Floyd's full attention. "The guy who beat you up?"

"Yeah, that's his last name anyway," said Floyd. Really, did she have to be so blunt about it? "He and I have something of a fighting rivalry."

"Can I ask about it? I-If you want to talk about it, that is."

Floyd thought for a moment or so. _Should I tell a complete stranger about what's been going on between me and Freshwater? But I haven't even told Wendy, because she might tell Sean because she likes him, and then the whole situation would be weird. But Cinnamon… nah, she won't tell. She doesn't even know the guy._

Having made up his mind that he will tell Cinnamon about his fighting history, Floyd clears his throat before saying, "Okay, I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell."

"Alright, then. Just take your time so I can let it marinade," Cinnamon requested.

"I'll try," Floyd promised. Clearing his throat for a second time, he prepares to tell his date his story. "See, back in high school, I only knew Freshwater… well, Sean is his first name… because he took some of the same classes as I did… which was odd, considering he was one grade level below me."

"Hmm. Must've been a smart cookie."

Floyd nodded his head. "Yeah, he was. I never really spoke to him outside of class, except when we had to work on an assignment together in class. Sean… was seen as a little weird to most people at the school. Always talking about beliefs and stuff. He would be proud of anything he did, as long as he wasn't hurting anybody because of it. Because of that, he was quickly put into the 'unpopular' tier." Floyd made quotation marks with his fingers for emphasis on 'unpopular.' "As a rule, anybody who was 'popular' would be humiliated and disgraced if they associate closely with anyone who was 'unpopular.' Everybody wanted to be popular because there were after-school and weekend parties for those who were rightly considered, among other benefits. But you had to meet a few requirements first: One, you had to be handsome or beautiful. Like you are," he said gesturing to Cinnamon, getting a blush and a giggle out of her. "Two: You didn't do things that weren't considered cool."

"Like?"

"Joining the band."

Cinnamon grimaced. "That's a stupid rule. I played the sax three years ago in high school. I made people melt like butter!"

Floyd laughed. "I'm sure you did, but if you went to my high school, you would've been 'unpopular' like Freshwater. Now, I wasn't in either group until the beginning of my senior year. One day, this guy named Ashton came up to me and said that I should meet him in the gym when school let out. Ashton was one of the most 'popular' guys in the school. Almost every girl wanted to date him, and… some people would say he redefined the definition of 'cool.' I figured that it was my turn to be popular if he himself would come talking to me about it. So after school, I went to the gym, and met him. He said that the 'populars' had an eye on me and they wanted me to join them, all the while explaining all the quirks such as the parties, the girls who I could date, the people who had my back when stuff went down, and all that. All I had to do was one thing: I had to trounce a random 'unpopular' kid."

"And that kid turned out to be Freshwater," Cinnamon reasoned.

"Yep, Little Boy Blue himself. The next day, a group of the 'populars' had managed to secure a classroom after school. A couple of them had coaxed Sean to come. When he got there, imagine his surprise when he found out that he had to fight me in that room. If I won that bout, I would be one of the 'populars'. A few had blocked the door so that Sean couldn't escape, but I could tell in his eyes. He would fight. And if he somehow managed to win, he would probably go for everyone else in that room, too. Problem was, Sean was… physically inept at the time. He fights with his mind much more than his fists. Still holds true today, now that I think about it. To shorten the story, I broke him in half. I had nothing against the guy, believe me, but I just wanted to be popular. I would talk to him later and explain everything."

"I take it that you did?"

"Nope, and that was both of our faults. Next day. The news about Sean's ass-kicking spread like a plague. Freshwater was laughed at the entire day, but I heard he didn't even let it faze him one bit. Meanwhile, I was suddenly popular, had people giving me my fifteen minutes of fame and a couple of girls had given me winks and everything. But I still felt bad about it, especially after my best friend Wendy approached me after school after hearing the news. I found out that day that she had a crush on Freshwater. I explained everything to her, but she still didn't approve of it. That's when I opened my locker and saw a folded invitation to a fight at the nearby park after school. I figured that this would be my chance to explain everything to him."

Cinnamon shifted around in her seat into a more comfortable position.

"When I got there, I found him in a large sandbox in a huge circle he had drawn himself. He immediately explained that he wanted revenge for yesterday. But first, I would tell him why people sent to fetch him in order to fight me. I told him, I never sent anyone, but he wouldn't listen. Eventually, I somehow figured that if I told him the real reason why I fought him, he and I would never have any sort of reconciliation. I thought about what it must've felt like for him. Would he really be so forgiving after hearing that I trounced him to further my own status? Nobody would. So I never told him. Infuriated at his lack of a response from me, he charged. It was the only fight he ever instigated. The guy was set in a blind rage because someone wanted to set him up for a fight for no apparent reason… or so he thinks. But I was laid out flat in fifteen seconds.

"When I came to, I resolved to fight Sean again just because nobody lays me out and gets away with it. With some discreet—and some not-so-discreet—gestures, I had fought him a number of times without the knowledge of the 'populars' most of the time. I didn't think why I fought him in the first place or even my best friend's feelings towards him. This was my personal pride; I wouldn't let him get the best of me. Now when I realize that Sean is on the same campus as me after a year has passed since my graduation, it dawns on me that he and I will be fighting for a long time to come."

"So let me get this straight," said Cinnamon, who soaked up the details of Floyd's story like a sponge. "All this time, he never figured out the real reason why you beat him up?"

"Nope. He thinks the 'populars' had set up the fight for their entertainment, and after seeing what I did to him, they want to make sure he suffers for as long as we attended the same school. Every other meeting ends with a beating. Usually from me to him."

"Hmm. You also tell me that you had nothing against Freshwater, right? And the only reason you continued to fight him was to prove that you were the better man?" Floyd nodded to both inquiries. "I have a suggestion, then."

"Okay, let's hear it."

"Just stop fighting. The way I see it, you're not in high school anymore; there's no such thing as a 'popular' person in college. You two could make up, like, platonically speaking, and if you still want to fight, just make it a friendly spar."

_She might be right,_ thought Floyd._ It's not like I have to be with a group of people who are so closed-minded about everything in order to prove that I'm somebody. Wait a minute, that doesn't even make any sense when I put it like that._

_But still…_

"I don't think it's going to happen, Cinnamon."

"But, why not?"

"Well, first off, I have to get revenge against Sean for what he did to me today, even if it led to me going out with a hot girl." Cinnamon blushed while Floyd continued. "I guess also because I have an image to keep up in front of him. For the whole of a year, I've been proving to him that I'm everything he only wishes he was: popular, cool, respected, and able to get any girl I wanted and not have anyone see me as an outcast. Away from everyone's eyes though, I did things that would've gotten me laughed at and kicked out of the group had anyone else known about it."

"Like what?"

"…I play Pokémon over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. A lot."

Cinnamon burst out in laughter.

"You see?" exclaimed Floyd, his arms outstretched to Cinnamon. "Stuff like that…"

"…Would've been fine," finishes Cinnamon, stifling her laughter. "A lot of people play Pokémon. Everyone's done it at least once. I still play myself."

"What version do you have, then?" Floyd asked.

"Diamond."

"And _this_ is why I got the Pearl version," explains Floyd, "because somehow everyone else would get Diamond, just like Wendy. She plays Pokémon, too."

"Wendy is your best friend's name, right? Was she 'popular', too?" asked Cinnamon.

"Nah, she got an invitation to join when she was in the 10th grade, though. She was usually quiet and kept to herself, and she talks a bit unusual too, but the 'populars' wanted her to join because of her… um… figure, if you know what I mean. Some of the guys thought that if Wendy could join the group, then they could date the most physically alluring girl in the school. Wendy rejected them though, but she still had guys running after her, 'populars' and 'unpopulars' alike. Even though she and I hung round each other a lot, none of the 'populars' said anything about it because they thought that I was trying to hook up with her, which wasn't true."

"You know, my roommate's name is Wendy. She has a voluptuous figure and she talks a little weird, too. Just like your best friend."

"Weird. How does she talk?" Floyd was secretly wondering if he and Cinnamon knew the same Wendy. What a shock it would be if he found out that he was dating his best friend's roommate!

"Well, the main thing is… she doesn't speak in first-person," explained Cinnamon. Floyd's eyes widened considerably. "I know, right?"

"No, that's not it. Cinnamon, your roommate… _is_ my best friend. I'm sure of it."

"Wait. Seriously?"

"Yeah. Seriously."

Cinnamon was quiet for a few moments. Suddenly, "Oh my God!" followed by a burst of laughter. "I would've never thought I would date a roommate's best friend or something."

"Small world, huh?" proclaimed Floyd.

"No kidding. But, you know something? If I wanted to be devious, I could get her to spill the beans about you."

"What?" cried Floyd, voice filled with panic.

"Everyone has things they tell their best friend and nobody else," said Cinnamon, her lips curling up in a smile. "I want to know what fruit your best friend will bear about you."

"No, don't do that! Don't ask her anything!" Floyd begged.

"Oh, but of course I won't. I like it when people open up to me themselves, the way you just did. That way, there's no deception, and I can tell for sure if they're sincere or not. And I think you are very sincere, even given that I've only known you for not even a whole day," said Cinnamon.

"You're sincere yourself, coming over to clean me up like that earlier," remarked Floyd, getting yet another blush out of Cinnamon in the process.

"Do you think Wendy will be okay with me dating her best friend?" she asks. "I mean, I have to share a room with her, and I don't want her to have any hard feelings towards me."

"I'll talk to her about it tonight. Hey, why don't I walk you back to your room, and both of us can talk about it with Wendy there?" Floyd suggested.

"Sounds like a peachy idea to me. Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, I can't eat anymore." Taking a good look at Cinnamon, Floyd thinks to himself, _I wonder if I can get a taste of her one of these days._

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

"We should've done it earlier than we did, Sylvia."

"What's wrong, Douglas? Didn't get enough sleep?"

"No, I was too excited after we did it in your office."

"Then we should've done it again in the car."

"And what if we had gotten caught by the police? Or robbed?"

"We could've gone to the top of a parking garage. Nobody would've noticed us."

"Yeah, and people wouldn't have noticed us in your office. You really don't care where we do it at, do you?"

"No, not really. But I always wanted somebody to lick me in a pool of melted chocolate."

"Fantasy, Miss Pine?"

"Reality, Mr. Dogwood. At least one day."

"You know, sometimes I still can't believe that we're in this relationship."

"Yeah, remember the first time we met online? The two of us just looking for a wild night with someone."

"Of course I do. When we met face-to-face and talked, I was surprised that you and I were in the same profession and taught at the same university. I mean, what are the odds?"

"At first, I was thinking it would be a little awkward to sex another teacher from Starf. But I was just so… magnetized by you."

"You were the one doing most of the magnetizing, Silvia. Pretty soon, I had taken you back to my house and carried you up the stairs, sloppy kisses all the way."

"We both plopped down on your queen-sized bed, and you practically tore my dress open and starting fondling my breasts. And then you took your mouth and sucked them both like there was no tomorrow."

"If there really wasn't a tomorrow, you could definitely say that your last night was your best night. And then after a few gratuitous moans from you…"

"It was time for me to return the favor. I had pulled down your zipper ever so slowly. And then I went to work on your shaft, working it until it got hard in my mouth."

"After that amazing blowjob, I had put you down and spread your legs as far as they would go, and I plunged inside you. The feeling of your vagina clamping down on my penis over and over; I would come to know it for a long time afterward."

"We had tried so many positions…"

"…The two of us screaming incoherent words for the whole 45 minutes."

"Well, you said something I could understand clearly: 'I'm gonna cum!'"

"And when I said that, you just wrapped your legs and arms around me and pulled me even closer to you, if that was even possible."

"Oh, the feeling when you shot into me! It was nirvana times ten! I came twice already, but that triggered a third one that was even more powerful than the first two. Oh, I remember just writhing with pleasure!"

"You weren't the only one."

"We had fallen asleep in each other's arms that night. I remember you waking me up around 8:30 in the morning, your eyes wide with terror that you may have gotten me pregnant."

"Man, it was such a relief when you said you were on birth control. I didn't want to have any kids yet, and apparently you didn't either."

"Yeah, right then in my life, I wanted to live life the way I wanted and minimize the consequences as much as possible. Actually, I still feel that way."

"Last night was great, too. But I don't think that anything can compare to that one time."

"Well, Douglas, that didn't stop us from trying. We'll probably keep trying until we're physically unable to try anymore."

"Speaking of trying, I have to get through the first day of classes with little to no sleep, thanks to you. They start in about another half-hour."

"I'll come by and check on you in between classes."

"As usual."

"Hahaha. Who would've ever known that you, ever the professional, would have such a wild side to you at times?"

"You help bring it out, you know. My life… has been a lot more exciting these last two years with you around."

"I'm touched, Douglas. Truly, I am. And in more ways than one."

"The feeling is mutual. I'll come see you when my classes are over for the day. There's something I want to talk to you about."

"_After_ classes are over? Must be really important."

"It is, Sylvia."

"What time is it… 8:10. I have a Biology class to teach at 8:40. So I'll see you later, Douglas. Hopefully I'll figure out what you want to talk to me about."

"Take care, Sylvia." And Douglas grabs her by the waist for a long kiss goodbye before Sylvia heads out of his office.


	3. Presence and Presents

**Author's note: Wow... it's been so long since I updated this fic. I apologize to all of my readers. This story has not been abandoned, I assure you; there's an idea about the story swirling in my mind every time I think about it, I have to write them down on a piece of paper. It's just that I haven't really had time to write a large amount of anything up until now, since I'm in school. I now have plenty of free time and access to a computer! Whoot! So I will be updating more often, hopefully. **

**Can I still assume you know what the first 2 chapters were about? If now, perhaps a re-reading is in order, but if you feel that you remember enough, then please proceed.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. The chances of that happening are extremely low. So please don't try to sue. Do you really think you can get that much money from an undergraduate college student? Didn't think so.**

Chapter 3: Presence and Presents

At 7:43 A.M., Floyd is waiting patiently in the lobby of the Hondew Dorms for two important women in his life: Wendy, his best friend; and Cinnamon, his new girlfriend. The three of them had a short talk about one going out with the other's roommate last night. Floyd was surprised that it went over so well with Wendy. She didn't have a problem with it at all; besides, it wasn't like they had wronged her or anything like that.

He was going to have a great time at Starf. Well, not so much as Sean was around, but he would fix that problem again later on today.

Sean just _had_ to be at the very school he transferred to.

And it's even more complicated because Wendy likes the guy. The same guy he beats up twice as much as the favor is returned. It's not even about being popular anymore, contrary to whatever Sean thinks; it's about who's better than the other. There's not even a good reason for it now; no prizes to be won, no status to reach for. Cinnamon was right about what she said last night. _There is no such thing as a 'popular' in college._ Now, it was fast becoming a "just because I can" kind of thing.

Floyd pushes his thoughts on the matter to the back of his mind. Right now, Wendy and Cinnamon were coming out of one of the elevators, backpacks in tow.

They met each other halfway across the linoleum floor, with Floyd giving them both hugs. "You two ready?" he asks them as he let go.

"I was born ready," says Cinnamon.

"Well, someone seems confident about their classes," Floyd remarked. "What about you, Wendy?"

"Um… Wendy's fine. Shall they go to class?" Wendy replied, 'they' referring to the three of them.

Cinnamon and Floyd noticed that Wendy was a little bit on edge when she said this, and the new couple noticed quickly. "Hey, what's the matter?" Floyd inquired.

"Nothing," Wendy immediately replied, but after a few moments she said, "Please don't be upset over what she's about to say."

"It's gotta be about Freshwater." Floyd grimaced a little.

"How do you know that? It could be about anything," Cinnamon countered.

"Trust me, my little spice girl, I know," said Floyd, using the new nickname he gave her before the end of last night.

"Actually, Cinnamon, it _is_ about Sean."

"You see?" said Floyd, turning to aforementioned spice girl with a smile of pride on his face. "I know my best friend." Turning back to Wendy, he asks, "What about him?"

"You know how Wendy, Floyd, and Cinnamon are taking the same biology class together, right?"

"Right," the two lovebirds chorused.

"Well, Sean is also taking the same class."

Floyd groaned on the inside. He may have to deal with Freshwater sooner than he thought!

"So, the guy you like-- and Floyd hates-- have to co-exist in the same class?" Cinnamon asked. She knew what Floyd thought about the whole situation, but she wouldn't let on about what she knew to Wendy by her boyfriend's request. Instead, she smirks. "Well, isn't that peachy."

"Sean is gonna be in the same class as me," repeated Floyd, seemingly shrugging the news off. "What's the problem, then?"

"Don't play dumb, Floyd. It's bad for his health," says Wendy while wagging a finger at him. "The problem is that the two of them are going to fight again."

"Yeah, you're right about that," Floyd agreed, thinking briefly about his revenge match with Sean this evening. "But never in a classroom, Wendy. In there, he's just another student. We'll handle it later on today, _mano a mano_ as always. 'Till then, I've got a couple of beautiful ladies to escort to class."

The girls hooked one arm around each of Floyd's; Cinnamon on his left and Wendy on his right. Together, they proceeded to their first class.

* * *

Sean had arrived in Room 230 in the Magost Building exactly twelve minutes before class. The teal classroom was acutally an auditorium, with rows upon escalated rows ascending to the back. In between rows were ramps that lead to the bottom part of the classroom were the teacher would use Powerpoint presentations on a big white overhead projector. Out of all 21 rows, Sean sat in the fifteenth row in a small section for seven seats.

This morning, he got out of bed early to train a little before breakfast. Out in the field, surrounded by the morning dew glistening in the rising dawn, Sean practiced his punches and kicks, and even tried out a new move to some success. If there was one good thing that came out of his rivalry with Floyd, it had been all the training and conditioning he forced himself to undertake. With his flat stomach and slightly toned muscles, Sean could merit a second glance from a few people, especially Wendy.

His mind was focused on her at this point. After all, it's not every day that you sit in a _college_ classroom with the most alluring girl from your _high school_. Sean beamed at the thought. _Come on, Wendy. I can't wait for you to show up. _

"Hey, Freshwater."

Sean's bliss plummeted instantly. _I wasn't waiting for you, Spears. _Looking to his left, he sees Floyd and two beautiful ladies looking back at him. "Hey Wendy, Spears—" He said Spears with obvious distaste— "And… you're Cinnamon, right?"

"Yeah… How did you know my name?" Cinnamon inquired.

"Because Wendy is your roommate, and she's also the best friend of my worst enemy, whose arm you're latched on to. I'm assuming that you're his new girlfriend?"

_Quick assumption, but he's right on!_ Cinnamon thinks. _So this is Sean, my boyfriend's rival._ "That's right. Cinnamon Dodgers. Um… Nice to meet you, I guess?"

"Pleasure's mine." Sean turns to Floyd with a scowl on his face. "When and where, Spears?"

"Lum Park, 7 p.m. You know where it is. Be there," says Floyd, making an intimidating lunge at Sean, who budges a tiny bit.

Sean quickly regains his stance and stands up, facing Floyd. "Have you ever known me to back down from a fight? In fact, I'll be there fifteen minutes early just for you," he says.

"Good," replies Floyd. "Oh yeah, I forgot to thank you for yesterday."

"All I did was kick your butt for the eighth time. Are you that happy to see me because there was nobody to fight at Micle?"

"That ain't what I'm even talking about, punk," said Floyd, who is a little aggravated. "I'm talking about Cinnamon. She had helped me dust myself off after that ass-kicking you gave me, a few words were said between us, and before you know it, we're a couple."

"Seriously?" Sean asks Cinnamon as more students trickle in. "That's how you two hooked up?"

"Yep! We went to dinner and everything," Cinnamon replied. "He is such a gentleman."

Sean was speechless. _That's not how it's supposed to work! The guy who gets his butt kicked is _never_ supposed to get the girl! And Floyd, a gentleman? This girl is on something illegal if she thinks that! What in the hell does she see in… Oh, yeah. The same thing all of his ex-girlfriends see in him. They won't last._

"I never knew there were girls out there who went out with people that _lost_ fights," he says to his enemy and rival. "How about that, Spears? You inferiority complex kicks in, and you actually get a girl because of it!"

"You mean superiority complex, punk," retaliates Floyd.

"Spears, you are in no way superior to me."

Brown eyes narrowed. "I beg to differ."

Blue eyes narrowed. "You can beg better than that."

"Don't get smart with me, Freshwater."

"Oh, save it for this evening. I know your policy, Spears."

"Whatever, man. I don't have to fight you in class to prove anything to you."

"And just what are you trying to prove? That the 'populars' are still God's gift to earth?" Sean asked accusingly. "Floyd, you've been out of high school for a little more than a year now. There's got to be another motive, or you just love trying to bully me. Screw the fact that I was an 'unpopular' at Leppa, because a normal person wouldn't want to fight half as much as you want to do with me. So tell me, Spears. Why? Is it because I have a thing for your best friend, or is there some other hidden motivation behind it all?"

"Sean, calm down, please," begs Wendy.

Floyd, after hearing the reason Sean thinks that they fight, laughs a little. "You really think that we're fighting over Wendy?"

The redhead's simple questioning catches the bluenette off-guard. "Wait… we're not?"

Wendy knew that was the reason Sean thought he had to fight so much. Still, it made her happy that there was yet another person in the world who would be there for her, fight for her. And the best part was, he wasn't even six inches away.

"Man, I have nothing against you concerning Wendy," explains Floyd. "I see the way you two are around each other. You two make each other happy. Both of you play Pokemon a bit too much for my taste, but it doesn't matter to me. I'm surprised that you didn't just go with her already. If you're a real man, you would at least do that! I'll tell you what. I hooked up with a hot girl on campus because of something you did to me. Now, I'm gonna spell out something for you. Since you need it so badly, I'll give you permission to hook up with my best friend."

What was this!? Floyd was actually letting his worst enemy go out with his best friend?

Sean had to test this.

"I don't need permission from you, Floyd. But let me get this straight." Fixing his gaze towards Wendy:

"If I were to take Wendy's hands in mine--"

And he did so, ever so softly.

"--and look straight into her emerald eyes, and say with all my love, heart, and courage, 'Wendy, would you be my girl, for now and always?' And she replies--"

"It would be an honor and a privilege."

"--in a voice that could only belong to some heavenly being, then you, Spears, wouldn't have a problem with it? None at all?"

Floyd only smiles. "I would only say, it's about damn time!"

Wendy brings Sean's attention back to her, then engages him in a light, heartfelt kiss, which deepened with every passing second. Never mind who was watching and the lack of experience on both their parts. Sean had finally officially asked her to be his girl!

Cinnamon squealed lightly while hugging Floyd's arm. "Awww, that is so sweet! It reminds me of a pancake," she told him in a hushed voice.

Floyd looked down at the object of his affection with a scrutinizing eye. "A pancake, Cin?"

She turned her smile towards him. "Yeah, a pancake! It's fluffy and heartwarming and everything!"

"You do realize that I didn't eat breakfast this morning, right?" Floyd pointed out.

"Oh, am I making you hungry?" whispered Cinnamon while poking his stomach. "You know, we don't have class for an hour after this period, so we can go get something together."

"Cool," Floyd agreed. Looking back to Sean and Wendy, he wonders,_ I wonder if those two notice at least 150 plus pairs of eyes on them right now._ Sure enough, just about every other student was watching and lightly clapping as Sean and Wendy sealed—well, continued to seal— the official beginning of their relationship with a kiss. When they broke apart, they immediately noticed the crowd, who began clapping loudly at this point, but they did almost nothing about hiding the blush spreading over both of their faces.

Suddenly, there was a handclap and a catcall from Professor Pine, who was magically sitting on her desk decked out in a red business suit and red heels. She had a smile on her face as she wordlessly congratulated the couple. _That's that girl from Douglas's meeting yesterday, _she thought to herself, recognizing Wendy. "Well, congratulations to the two of you," she finally said. "Nice way to start off the semester, getting together like that." A few of the students laughed.

"Ah… how much did you see, Professor?" inquired Sean.

_The entire thing, confrontation and all. Nobody in the class noticed me come in, thanks to all of you._ "I didn't see much. Now, if everyone would kindly take a seat, I can take roll and we can start an exciting Biology course!"

Sean and Wendy sat next to each other, hands intertwined. Floyd and Cinnamon sat down right next to them.

"Hey, aren't you guys supposed to be in class or something?" asked Sean quietly. "Floyd, I know you wanted to escort Wendy to class, but—"

"We're taking this class, too," Floyd said rather bluntly. "So we'll have to put up with each other every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. And don't you dare get the wrong idea about what just happened. I did it to help Wendy."

"I guess I can put up with you for an hour every other day. As long as Wendy is next to me, I'll endure anything for her sake." And Sean meant it. Wendy knew it as well, as she gave her boyfriend's hand a squeeze. The four then turned their full attention to Professor Pine as she passed out the syllabus to her students.

* * *

Professor Pine's class went by faster than most people would realize due to her charm, her openness, and all of her jokes (which were actually funny). After breakfast with her friends and boyfriend, Wendy made the trek to Professor Dogwood's English class in the Cornn building. After taking the elevator up 2 levels, Wendy finally found the class and walked in, a little nervous. Not that many people consider being in a room for 32 students and an instructor nerveracking, but Wendy was afraid of speaking up, which she will certainly have to do. She had her discussion of her speech impairment with Professor Dogwood yesterday, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she would be teased just like everyone else from middle school onward had teased her behind her back or otherwise...

Professor Dogwood came into the room, looking every bit as sharp as an instructor can be. A brown suit with a white tie with equally white dress shoes made an impression that whatever he was doing was going to be serious, as it usually was. He stepped behind his large desk and then proceeded to greet his students for this class. "Good morning, everyone," he said.

"Hello, Professor," most of the class replied.

"Well, glad to see that most of you are ready for this class. My name is Douglas Dogwood, and this is General Writing 101. Now that you can put a face to the name, I'd like to be able to do the same with each of you. When I call roll, I would like for you to stand up and tell me something interesting about yourself." He paused for any possible questions, then proceeded due to lack of those. "All right... Dawson Addleman?"

A small teen dressed in all black stood up from his desk. "Here, sir. I'm aspiring to become an independent DJ."

"Interesting," Prof. Dogwood remarked as Dawson sat back down. And so the class went for a few minutes. Wendy found out that a girl sitting to her right liked doing cosplay for quite a few animes, and that a boy sitting in front of her wrote fanfiction about video games. Those were some of the more interesting ones...

"Wendy O'Dell?"

Wendy jumped a little in response to her name being called. She couldn't believe it was her turn already. She stood up slowly to address Prof. Dogwood. "Here, sir... Uh... Wendy always... speaks in third person... due to something that happened years ago..."

Prof. Dogwood could sense how nervous Wendy was. "I believe we've talked about it before class started. Guys, Wendy is something of a special case in this class. She might speak a bit differently than the rest of you, but I want you to make sure that you make Wendy as comfortable as you can, okay?"

"Yes, sir," the class, sans Wendy, responded. Wendy silently thanked Prof. Dogwood for understanding and getting everyone else to refrain from teasing, even if it was just a little bit.

After roll was finished, Prof. Dogwood announced, "Now you all have been assigned two books to read over the summer, starting with John Grisham's "The Firm," so we'll now begin to discuss that. First of all, what did you think about the book in general?"

* * *

"It's time. We're prepared. We will choose him or her today."

"Perhaps this isn't a wise idea. You do realize what will happen when the person finishes..."

"I am aware of that, Ce-- Celeste. There will be havoc, and turmoil for a bit of a while. But I wish to know.... If such a senario existed, what would people _really_ do? These... people can say one thing, but really want to do something else entirely."

"I understand, sir, but why not unleash it yourself, then? To pick one human out of billions..."

"To do so myself would make it a bit inconveinent for me. You must understand young-- 'lady,' I should call you now-- These people are not to know who or what we exactly are until this... senario reaches a possible conclusion. He or she will ask questions when it begins; we will answer him or her, but not in full. You must also realize that we are very... fragile... in these appearances. So extra caution must be taken to protect yourself. Do NOT do anything deemed unusual out in the open unless it is absolutely necessary. We will also guide the chosen through the more difficult parts of his or her quest. Until the time comes, act as a normal person would."

"Yes, sir. I got it."

"Now, let us proceed to open shop. All of the boxes in this storage room are making me a bit claustrophobic."

"Hee hee. Whatever you say, Artemis. And remember to lighten up some. You're boring if you don't have fun."

* * *

After classes were over for the day, Sean and Wendy managed to catch the bus to Lansat Mall to basically hang out by themselves and do a little window shopping. Currently, they were at one end of the mall and were about to turn around when a new store caught their eye.

"Hey, this store wasn't here before," remarked Wendy. "Seems like they finally got that spaced occupied by something."

"Yeah. 'W.A.R.P.' Wierd name for a store," replied Sean. "Let's check it out, maybe we'll even see what the store name means."

"Sounds like an idea. Wendy hopes it's interesting."

At this, the tandem walked into the store, which housed plenty of media. Books on the right shelf near the front, CDs and DVDs on the other side, and different shelves of miscellanious things made small rows in the center. Against the background of green and white, which seemed to swirl in places, Sean and Wendy noticed that the store was devoid of other customers. _They must not be that busy right now,_ concluded Wendy.

The only other person who was in the store worked the front counter. A tall man of 36 years with long snow-white, wavy hair stood at the register checking himself over every once in a while to make sure he looked as presentable as a man of his standing should be. He had on a white overcoat with gold buttons, a small microphone attached to the collar. Golden-colored gloves gently brushed his overcoat free of dust, not that there was a speck on him. The bottom half of his white starched pants and golden shoes were hidden from view.

When the two were at the counter, the red-eyed man proceeded to introduce himself. "Greetings, and welcome to W.A.R.P. My name is Artemis and I reign over this store. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Hey, Artemis. Can you tell us what W.A.R.P. means?" asked Sean.

"Gladly. It means We Acquire Random Parts. Well, not really parts, but we tend to have random things here and there," Artemis replied.

So... it's kinda like a thrift store?" asked Wendy.

"Thrift store...? Y-Yes, you could call it that. Is there anything specific you're looking for? We just might have it in the back if it's not out in the open."

"Well, we just became boyfriend and girlfriend today," Sean began. "I kinda want to give her something special to mark this day, but nothing out here is cutting it. Got something stored away in mind?"

"Hmm... I'll see if my assistant can find something, she has something of a knack for finding things for all kinds of people." He gently tugs the collar to his lips to speak into the mic. "Celeste, I need you out here. We have a... romantic apprasial," he whispers.

No sooner than 3 seconds later the second employee of W.A.R.P. appears from the back door. Celeste skipped all the way to the front counter. A short young woman of 18, she stops to tuck some strands of her shoulder length, forest-green hair behind her ears which are decorated by two teardrops for earrings, matching her blue eyes. She is wearing nothing but a knee-length sleeveless dress of the deepest green a person ever did see, along with some green flipflops.

When she comes up to Artemis, the top of her head reaches his collarbone. She strains her neck to look up at him. "Right here, Artemis!" she proclaims with a smile. "These them?" she asks, gestering to Sean and Wendy with her hand.

"Celeste, these two have... how do you say... hooked up?"

"Yes, that's it."

"I'd like for you to head to the back and see what these two would like."

"Got it, sir!" She skipped to the back and locked the door behind her. Calmly walking to the center of the storage room, she closed her eyes and concentrated. Her hair began to whip upwards as a mysterious but gentle wind began to whirl around her. She could feel herself becoming spectral, passing through barriers and the dimensions held within.

* * *

_When she was done, Celeste found herself suspended above a stage in what looked like an auditorium. She could see many people filing into seats, but for the most part their attention was turned to a group of four students; the two guys were arguing, but not too loud, while the two girls watched. Celeste, unseen in her spectral form, decided to fly up to where the argument was taking place to see what exactly was going on._

_"Floyd, you've been out of high school for a little more than a year now. There's got to be another motive, or you just love trying to bully me. Screw the fact that I was an 'unpopular' at Leppa, because a normal person wouldn't want to fight half as much as you want to do with me. So tell me, Spears. Why? Is it because I have a thing for your best friend, or is there some other hidden motivation behind it all?" _

_"Sean, calm down, please."_

_"Ha ha ha. You really think that we're fighting over Wendy?"_

_"Wait… we're not?"_

_"Man, I have nothing against you concerning Wendy. I see the way you two are around each other. You two make each other happy. Both of you play Pokemon a bit too much for my taste, but it doesn't matter to me." _

_Celeste gasped in shock. Fortunately, nobody could hear her. _Did he just mention Pokemon? Then, Sean and Wendy are prospects!_ She would have to take this up with Artemis immediately._

_"Now, I'm gonna spell out something for you. Since you need it so badly, I'll give you permission to hook up with my best friend."_

_Celeste didn't hear the rest of the conversation due to being wrapped in her own thoughts, but she did catch the long kiss._ I wonder what that feels like,_ she said to herself. She resolved to find out one day._

* * *

When she had faded back into the storage room, Celeste opened the door, still finding Artemis trying to make idle conversation with the couple she saw kissing not moments ago in that place and time. "Artemis! I found something desirable, but it's too high for me to reach, and we don't have a ladder yet!"

A believable lie. This was their secret code that she found a prospect and that she needed his help to make a decision. The last past was added because she really was short and really couldn't reach top shelves.

"I understand," he tells her. Turning back to the students, he said, "I'll have to go back and get it down for her. I trust you two will not steal anything?" he asked, suggesting to the hidden camera above his head.

"Don't worry, Artemis, he can trust them," replies Wendy.

"Trust... who?"

"Sorry, Wendy only speaks in third person," Sean and Wendy both announced.

"How unusual. Well then, I'll return shortly." Artemis makes a brisk walk to the storage room where Celeste was waiting. Those two were prospects? And they were the first people to walk _into_ the store!

When the door is closed and locked, Artemis turns to Celeste with a very serious look on his face. "You're sure?"

Celeste stares back with an equally serious expression. "I'm sure."

"Tell me everything you saw."

"Alright. I had warped into a classroom, and they were both there. Sean was arguing with a boy with long red hair about a fight, and Wendy's name came up. This caused the redhead to laugh and say the fight had nothing to do with Wendy."

"Alright. Where does Pokemon come into the picture?"

"The redhead said that the couple played Pokemon a bit too much for his taste."

"Hmm... anything else?"

"Well, when he said that, I actually got lost in my own thoughts and didn't hear anything else, sorry. But I did see them kiss; that lasted quite a while."

Artemis mulled over this new information for a couple of moments, and then said, "Celeste. What do you say we show them what they could be dealing with? Based on their expressions, I will allow these two to begin the experiment."

"I have no problem with that. But just how are you going to do that?"

Artemis smirked. "You do realize who I am, right?"

Celeste giggled. "Yeah, I know exactly who you are."

Nothing further needed to be said. With that, Artemis reached up to the top shelf and brought down a small brown box. He proceeded back into the actual store, Celeste following behind minus the skipping.

Sean and Wendy were still at the counter, pondering over what exactly Celeste had found in the storage room when Artemis walked back behind it. "I apologize for the wait. Now, how would you like to see what Celeste found?"

"Sure," replied Wendy. "They've been pondering this whole time."

"All right, then. Open the box and take out what's inside," Artemis offered, placing the box on the counter. Sean lifted the lid and, with a slightly puzzled look in his eyes, lifted out...

"A miniature Poke Ball?"

"Oh, not just any miniature Poke Ball," Celeste chirped. "Press the button in the center." Sean did so and the Pokeball immediately expanded to what one would expect to be a normal-sized Ball.

"Wow! Wendy didn't know there were Poke Balls that actually did that!" replied Wendy.

"Yeah, usually they're just plastic and a fixed size. And this one's made of metal, isn't it?" asked Sean.

"Yep," confirmed Celeste. "If Pokemon were real, you could actually catch them with that, I feel."

"Man, that's way cool!" said Sean. "But if I had a Pokemon, I'd have to take real good care of it, especially since there aren't any Pokemon Centers in the world. I'd be training my Pokemon to be the best out there, whatever it is." Wendy nodded her head in agreement. Turning to face Artemis, Sean asks, "So how much are they?"

"Hmm... well, since you showed a keen interest, I'd be willing to lower my price just for you. That Poke Ball, plus the three others in the box, are 10 dollars each."

Sean couldn't believe his luck. Four expandable Poke Balls for 40 dollars. That was a steal! He quickly paid for them, giving one to Wendy and putting the box that contained the other two in a small plastic bag.

"Sean, for being the first person to request something from the back of W.A.R.P., I'd like to present you with this." Artemis reached down into the counter drawer, and handed Sean a tied scroll.

"What does it contain?" asked Wendy.

"A prophecy that Sean must read before tonight is over," said Artemis while keeping a straight look on his face. "People are destined for great things, or so prophecies say. Perhaps that particular one may lead to your destiny."

"Um... thanks. I guess it couldn't hurt," replied Sean. "How much is this?"

"Free of charge."

"Alright. Thanks, Artemis. I'll be sure to spread the word about you guys, since you just opened... how long ago?"

"We just opened yesterday," said Celeste.

"Wow. But shouldn't you guys have a 'Grand Opening' banner over the entrance or something? That'll attract more people to the store."

Artemis and Celeste looked over at each other, both slightly red in the face. "Heh heh... we must not have planned this as well as we thought, huh?" Celeste said sheepishly.

"Well, even with me, things can go wrong," replied Artemis. "We'll get one up tomorrow."

"Well, we must be going," said Sean.

"Good luck with the store. Wendy and Sean will be back to check up on things," said Wendy.

"Thank you both. I have no doubt that you'll come back to W.A.R.P. very soon," said Artemis.

"Come back and visit, and good luck with your relationship!" replied Celeste.

As the two lovebirds walked out of sight, Artemis and Celeste looked back at each other. "Nice move with selling the Pokeballs; if he tells some people after reading that, people will constantly want to buy Poke Balls! We'll make a lot of money during this experiment!" Celeste confirmed.

"That is true, but it can also become a bad thing. If we get too much attention, people will demand to know who exactly makes the Poke Balls, making it that much harder for us to keep our identities. Also, you know that money is next to useless for us," said Artemis.

That was when his stomach rumbled.

"Looks like you can use some of that money to buy something from the food court!" Celeste laughed. "If you don't eat, you're not gonna be able to keep your energy up."

Artemis sighed. "Hmm... comes with the territory, I suppose. I have to use the money out of my own pocket to buy food, anyway, since using store money is against mall policy. Mind the store for me while I get us something to eat. I've been wanting to try this mall's nachos."

"You know what I like, Artemis."

"Yes, I do, you vegetarian. I'll be back shortly... shorty."

"Hey!"

"Well, you did tell me to loosen up, right? So don't be offended. You know I mean no harm."

"Yes, I know. It's good that you're trying, though."

"Thank you, Celeste."

"No problem. I'll call you on the mic if I need anything."


	4. Cards, Resolutions, and Light

**_Author's Note:_ Hey, everyone! Sorry for the long wait... turns out I didn't have as much free time on my hands as I once thought. To be honest, I think this chapter could have been done better in my opinion, not that I didn't try but my writing style may have not been up to par on this one. But this story needed an update.**

**I will endeavor to update when I can. So for now, enjoy the latest chapter of SU:CotB and leave a review. I'd love to know what people think about my characters and the story in general.**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, although I'm pretty sure we might know that already. I only have my copy of Pokemon Platimum, about 500 TCG cards, the OCs in this story, the plot, and my free will. Yeah, that sums it up.**_

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* * *

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Chapter 4: Cards, Resolutions, and Light

"I'll attach a Fighting energy to Armaldo and use Crush Claw to KO your Kingdra for game!"

"Dang! That makes 2 in a row! Kingdra decks are hard for me to play; I never know what to discard!"

Brooke Freshwater, younger sister of our blunette protagonist, just got her butt handed to her at her own kitchen table by Friday Cooper, her BFF from 4th grade onward. These two have just finished playing the Pokemon Trading Card Game. While not as popular as the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG, it does have its followers.

"Don't get discouraged, Brooke. You can only get better with practice. I mean, it's only been a year and you've improved greatly from when I first started teaching you," Friday states.

"Says the shoulder-haired blond bombshell freshman of Leppa High," Brooke scoffs, getting a blush from aforementioned girl, who is now embarrassed. "That doesn't mean I can stand toe-to-toe with someone like you constantly. I only beat you like, what, 7 times since I've been playing? And half of those times you got bad starts."

"You just couldn't draw in to your PlusPower cards when you needed to, that's all," Frdiay surmises. "You know, there's a card called Expert Belt that's from the Arceus set, why don't you give that a try? I'm starving though."

"I'll see about it. Help yourself to the fridge while I figure out what to take out to make room for it," offers Brooke. Without another thought, Friday jumps up from the table to rummage through her friend's refrigerator. Shifting through her Pokemon cards, Brooke takes notice of Friday's red vest, white blouse, ruffled gray skirt, red knee-high stockings and black shoes, the standard uniform for girls attending Leppa High School as of this year. Brooke thought Sean got off lucky, wearing whatever he wanted to school. Why was it that she and everyone else that didn't graduate from high school when he did had to wear those… uppity uniforms? Her dad said something about a growing number of students dressing inappropriately and the school board wanting to curb such behavior.

It was a ridiculous notion in Brooke's eyes. Setting rules only gives someone the incentive to break them, for the simple fact that they're there. She herself had already broken one rule in society, if it could even be called a rule.

Brooke let her eyes linger a little longer on her best friend, who was still rummaging through the fridge until she pulled out a jar of mayonnaise and some ham, intent on making a sandwich. She grabbed a butter knife and dipped it into the mayo, but spilled a little on the countertop before she put it on the bread.

_Taking her finger, she wiped up the mayo, and proceeded to stick it into her mouth, swirling it around as she did so. It took all that Brooke had to keep from reaching into her skirt at the sight. Friday proceeded to finish making two sandwiches, making subtle suggestions with her every movement that Brooke just couldn't ignore, if the burning sensation inside of her indicated anything._

_When Friday returned to the table and set the two sandwiches down, she then asked Brooke in a sultry voice, "Do you want it?"_

_Brooke didn't know whether Friday was taking about herself or the sandwiches next to her, and honestly didn't give a damn. "Yes, Fri, I want it so bad." Oh, how she wanted it. She wanted Friday to run her fingers through her long blue hair, to grope her breasts through her uniform, to capture her pink lips and wrestle with her for passionate domination. "Give it to me, please. I can't wait any longer!"_

_"Oh, so you want me to give it to you, huh?" Friday repeated, her red eyes locking onto Brooke's sapphire irises. "How bad do you want it, sexy?"_

_"I want it really, really bad. Stop teasing me..."_

_"Well, hehe, I'll be more than happy to give it to you any way you want. However, you must do one thing for me."_

_"Name it. Name it!" panted Brooke. Friday leaned in close to Brooke, so close their lips were just a couple inches apart._

_"Brooke, baby... You have to end this daydream so that the real Friday doesn't thunk you in the head."_

_"Huh?"_

_"Too late."_

THUNK!

"Ow!" Brooke yelped, grabbing her forehead on reflex.

Friday retracted her hand with a knowing grin on her face. "You can tell me who you were thinking about when the pain dulls." She shrugged off the glare Brooke threw her way.

"Hey! I can't help it if I get…"

"…REALLY lost in your daydreams. I know." Friday finished for her friend as sh sat back down. "So, who's the guy?"

"Well… this particular person is a blond, about the same height as us, with red eyes just like yours. And I've been crushing for a bit of a while."

"You mean the week or two since we've been in school?" Friday asked.

"No, longer than that. Before we got admitted into Leppa. I've had this… desire to do things, but I don't know if I should follow through," she said with a look that clearly stated she was drifting off into her subconscious again.

"You had mentioned me in your daydream," Friday brought up, immediately getting Brooke's attention on her. "What was I doing in particular?"

_You were about to take me to another world until you thunked me in the head,_ thought Brooke. "I was ranting to you about how hot this person was…" That was when she noticed she was wet in her nether region. "Um, may I be excused? I need to… you know…"

"Really? You must want this person real bad to have to change with company over. I understand; it happens with me all the time."

"Oh, yeah? Who's in your daydreams?" Brooke challenged.

Friday looked down at the table, trying to hide her blush. "I'd… rather not say, not right now."

"Well, you can tell me whenever you feel ready, okay?"

"Okay. Same applies for you, too."

"Alright, I'll return shortly."

Brooke gets up from her chair and proceeds to walk to the living room where the stairwell was located. Before she could ascend, however, she hears Friday scream, "Don't be too loud this time while you're up there!"

"...You mean like you were just now!?" Brooke hollered back.

"Yeah! At least I can keep myself to a minimum when I do it!"

_You wouldn't be able to if you were with me,_ Brooke surmised, grinning internally.

After walking up the stairs and down to the end of the small hallway, she reaches for her door on the left side. Suddenly, she has this weird urge to turn around to face the door directly behind her. Taking the one step needed, she grasps the doorknob and turns it to reveal Sean's room. Or rather, what was left of it.

His bed still had the same two blue pillows and a thin, slightly wrinkled turquoise bedsheets. Light was pouring out between the curtains of his window, illuminating the bed and making it seem as if it was actually a rectangular piece of the ocean made still. His oak drawers lay on the opposite wall, a thin touch of dust covering it. Normally, Sean would have his TV and his Nintendo Wii there. The brown carpet and the white walls seemed a lot bigger than usual due to his disappearance.

Brooke loved her brother, and she knew he loved her. And she missed his general presence. Despite being 4 years apart and different genders, they were a lot alike. Besides the matching hair color, they both were into Pokemon, although Brooke would constantly tease Sean about it being a game for little children. He would counter right back by saying that there were people twice his age that play (and she actually knew a few at her League). It was Brooke who Sean told first they he really liked Wendy, his reason being that she probably didn't understand much about it at first. It was Brooke who always needed some help with her homework, and Sean did his best to make sure she understood what was placed in front of her. It was Sean who gave her a shoulder to cry on when she and Friday ended their friendship briefly over... Brooke couldn't even remember what they had ended their relationship over; it must've been over something really petty for her not to be able to recall it.

_I miss you, Sean. I'll call you to see what's up later._ With that thought, she does an about face towards her own room to seek an ecstatic release due to a person that's still in the vicnity of her own house.

* * *

"Mmmm... Wendy, I didn't know... you were so... Ahh!... good at this..."

Wendy stopped what she was doing for a moment, gaining a groan of protest from Sean. "Really? But Wendy doesn't do it that often..."

"Oh, why did you stop? I was feeling gooooood," Sean drawled.

Wendy giggled. "Alright, she'll begin again. Okay, Sean. Eyes closed and relax, just like before..."

To those wondering exactly what is happening between these two, Sean and Wendy were currently at Lum Park, sitting on a bench facing the Persim Fountain, donated by Walter K. Persim, the first president of Starf thirty years ago. Wendy is giving Sean a massage, mainly to loosen him up for his upcoming brawl against Floyd.

Technically, she really shouldn't be taking sides. Sean is her boyfriend, while Floyd is her best friend. A one year lull in aggression hasn't changed anything between the two if the confrontation between the two of them in class earlier was any indication.

Does their history go deeper than "fight on sight?" Wendy is pretty certain it does. She knows that Floyd didn't start the aggression against Sean because of interest in her; he had told her why he first started beating up on him in high school. It had nothing to do with her at all, he reaffirmed that fact in Biology 101 this morning. But that one battle to join the "populars" should have been just that: one battle.

So why in the hell did he have to continue to fight him all the way up until now?

Twenty-three fights later, Wendy is still questioning Floyd's motives. It didn't help that she couldn't get any info out of him because he was dating her roommate last night. He actually forgot to call her afterward like he usually does. Well, not that he needed to; they had told her about it last night. Whether her questions are answered or not, she hopes that the fighting will stop once and for all between two important guys in her life.

"Wendy?"

Sean's voice snapped her out of her reverie. "Huh? What is it?"

"Listen, I know you're concerned about Floyd. He is your best friend, after all."

"Yeah…"

"…I'm going to get to the bottom of this," Sean consoled her. "He's going to tell me everything. And once again, I'm sorry about putting you through this."

"Don't worry about it," Wendy said. "Sean needs this. They both need this."

Sean tried to lighten the mood a little bit. "Hey, what did you think of Artemis and Celeste back there at W.A.R.P.?"

Wendy mulled over this a little bit while slowing her massage. "Artemis seems like the type of person that has a silent authority within him. It's like he could be a chairman or a president of some club instead of working behind the counter of a store."

"Well, he did say that he 'rules the store.' Maybe one of his activities carries over into his workplace?" Sean surmised.

"Could be. Celeste… she strikes Wendy as a happy-go-lucky girl. Like there's hardly a problem in the world. She could very well have the heart of a child in a woman's body."

"It's nice to be optimistic," Sean said. "However, the one thing that gets me is that they were the only two people working the store."

"Maybe they have more people working in the back?" Wendy concluded.

"If that were the case, then why would Celeste need Artemis to leave the counter and basically leave the front of the store unattended except for the security camera?" Sean countered. "Of course, Celeste couldn't reach the shelf where the Poke Balls were, but still. They have to be the only ones running the store. Can two people really handle the needed manpower to run the place? Sure, business hasn't picked up immediately, but when it does, I believe they'll be swamped."

"If Sean feels so strongly, then he should apply for a job there. Leftover financial aid will only get him so far." Wendy suggested.

"Maybe I will. They seem to be nice people. But on one condition: I want you to apply with me. We're done with classes at the same time, so we could go in together. What do you say?" Sean offered.

"Hmm… Wendy will think about it," she said, putting a finger on her chin while pondering. "In the meantime, Sean has a prophecy to read before the end of the day."

"Thanks for reminding me, Wendy. Might as well read it now." Reaching for his backpack laying on the ground in front of him, Sean rummages through it, searching for the mysterious scroll given to him by the white-haired man. "What time is it, by the way?" he asks while searching.

"It's 6:52," Wendy replied. "That's eight minutes until the fight."

"…Got it!" Sean exclaims as he pulls out the scroll. He unties the thin rope binding the contents together and unrolls the parchment, Wendy watching him as he does so. "What does it say?" she asks.

"Patience, Wendy, I'm going to read it now." Sean squints his eyes as he begins to read from the scroll. "Let's see, it says…"

* * *

Headed in the direction of the Persim Fountain, Floyd and Cinnamon are walking hand-in-hand to yet another volatile situation dealing with Floyd. "Man, I'm getting sick and tired of dealing with Sean all the time," states Floyd. "I do have other things that comprise my life."

Cinnamon looks up at her boyfriend. "Well, now you have a chance to go over everything with Sean. Before you fight him, ask him to hear you out. You should tell him everything that you couldn't two years ago. He might be more forgiving now."

"I doubt that, Cin. Even though all of the times he's fought have been in self-defense, except for that one time, he's become more aggressive every time. I always knew he had a spine, but he's been showing it off more and more. The looks in his eyes, his speech towards me… Sean, before I joined the 'populars,' was never really like that. He was just a loner who did well in school and not gave a damn about other peoples' opinions. Unlike me…" He stops walking, because he sees Sean holding a cellphone some distance away, with Wendy sitting next to him. "Cin, what time is it?"

With her free hand. Cinnamon checks her cell phone briefly before saying, "It's 6:54. Six minutes before today's special."

"I'd hate to break the calm, but this has to be settled," said Floyd. For almost all of the times he's bullied Sean, he'd beaten himself up as well. Going with the flow to enjoy a few perks hasn't really been all that great, now that Floyd thinks really hard about it. His friendship with Wendy has been drifting a little further apart with each battle. He's been indirectly hurting her with every punch thrown until today, because now Sean knows the truth. Well, part of it anyway. Those two really did complete each other and he'd known it every time Wendy talked about him. Regardless, he would make it up to his best friend no matter how long it took. Mulling over Cinnamon's words from last night, he has decided to let the whole feud go. He would face Sean this one last time -- not as a "popular," but as Floyd Spears, Jr. -- and be done with it, no matter how things turned out.

"Are you ready?" asks Cinnamon. "Even though you've been the aggressor as far as I can tell, I'm rooting for you. To be a better man, you're going to have to bring this feud down to a simmer."

"That's exactly what's gonna happen." With that, Cinnamon and Floyd make their way over to the two, hands still linked.

* * *

_"So, that's what it said? That's pretty odd for a prophecy."_

"Yeah, you're telling me." At the moment Sean and Wendy are talking to his little sister Brooke, who is on speakerphone.

_"When you get home, you're going to have to show me those Poke Balls. Can they open up? Do they shoot red beams?"_

"They're not sure on both counts," replied Wendy. "They never got around to trying them yet."

_"Hey, I have an idea. Why don't you just try it out on a regular animal and see if you can catch that?"_ Brooke suggested.

"Birds are a bit too fast for me to catch, and I'm not running the risk of running into a squirrel army," said Sean, at which point Wendy began laughing. "You haven't forgotten when Dad told us about his college days, have you?" he pressed.

_"Ah, well. What's the point of having a Ball if there's nothing to catch?"_

"It's the Ball itself, Brooke. What kind of metallic ball do you know of expands at the touch of a button?" Sean retorted.

_"None, actually."_

"Exactly! These are a rare…" Noticing movement from the corner of his eye, he turns to see Floyd and Cinnamon walking straight for them.

It's time for business.

"Hey, Brooke, somebody's going to be sporting a few bruises."

Brooke was a bit caught by surprise. Sean would always say those exact words right before fighting Floyd, and he hadn't said them in a little over a year. _"Huh, what? You never told me that Floyd was at Starf!"_ she exclaims.

"Well," Sean begins as Floyd affixes him with a look (was that supposed to be a glare?) with his arms crossed, "It was a surprise to me, too. We are fighting again. Hopefully for the last time."

_"Really? Well, I'm rooting for you, Sean. Show him what it means to be a Freshwater."_

"You know it!" Sean hangs up the phone and puts it back in his pocket before standing up to stare his adversary in the eyes. Cinnamon and Wendy back off to give them some space.

Sean and Floyd were determined to end this rivalry between them; Sean because he wanted to get Floyd off his back after going through hell in the 11th grade, and Floyd because he concluded that putting Sean through hell wasn't really worth it over a year after the fact.

Floyd begins to open his mouth. If he doesn't do this now, who knows when he'll be motivated enough to do it. "Hey, Freshwater, I--"

"Cut the crap, Spears," interrupted Sean. "I was having a good day until you showed up. If you got something to say, then say it so I can kick your ass and finish the day on a good note."

Wendy flinched a little at the rough words that Sean was giving her best friend. Cinnamon even more so; she was beginning to wonder if her suggested talk will have any effect.

Floyd cleared his throat before beginning again. "Sean, I don't do this much, but..." His gaze lingered downward before saying, "I'm sorry."

Sean's mouth gaped. And for quite a long time. Floyd... apologizing? To him, of all people? "Say what?"

"You heard me. I said I'm sorry for beating you up so much back at Leppa."

Not believing this for a minute but eager to hear whatever BS his adversary wants to spit out, Sean asks him, "Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Because it wasn't really worth it," Floyd continued. "You know, that first time we fought... I wanted to apologize to you afterward."

"Why didn't you?"

"Would you have really believed me if I did? Think about it. Someone kicks your ass and apologizes for it later on. Wouldn't that seem kinda odd to you? You wouldn't have been in such a forgiving mood." After receiving an affirmative nod, Floyd continues his story. "But trust me, that's exactly what I wanted to do when you had called me out for our second fight."

"Is that so? Well, you looked like you were all business that day, and every other time after that as well. You've had a whole _year_, Floyd, to apologize. And yesterday as well. Yet you still attempted to make me look bad... again. You should've said sorry the first chance you got and be done with it. Now, I wouldn't have been immediately cool about it, but at least I would have a reason for your behavior." Sean's voice steadily rose higher. "Bullying someone to gain a few favors with a few pricks? Oh, I bet they were entertained watching you bruise people. No, no, not people... me. You always went after _me!_ Was I their favorite victim or something?!"

"No, Sean," Floyd explained. "Listen, I was only supposed to fight you just one time. The 'populars' were going to be through with you after that. I was going to set the record straight with you after that one fight, but I held back before that second fight, and you beat the crap out of me. Every other time I came after you, it was of my own free will."

Sean couldn't believe what he was hearing. "So _you_ kept giving me hell, not them. Was one time not good enough for you? Or did you want revenge because I gave _your_ ass a beating? Fair is fair, Spears."

Floyd face-palmed and shook his head, laughing. "'Fair is fair.' This coming from a guy who would use a Starbucks beverage in a fight," he said, making Sean give a low growl. "But I didn't want revenge, not really. And like I said earlier today, it has nothing to do with Wendy either. It's just that nobody beats me in a fight. I had to prove my dominance to you in that area. Sure you got off a few wins, but who's been winning most of our fights? I have."

"And who's been instigating almost every fight? You have," Sean countered. "Look, if you're truly sincere about the apology, then I accept it since it took you so long. But if you're not really sincere about it, I will beat you down until the day one of us dies. And if you die before I do, I'll bomb your grave to top it off!"

Cinnamon glanced over at Wendy. "Would he really do something like that?"

"Wendy hopes not," the pigtailed brunette replied. "If he does, he'll be short one girlfriend or wife, whichever one she'll be if it happens. That's Wendy's best friend they're talking about, here."

_This guy is crazy!_ Floyd thought to himself. "I really am sincere about it, man. I've done a little talking and a lot of thinking about it, and I truly do apologize."

Sean relaxed a little bit. However, he had to make sure of Floyd's intentions. "So does this mean we're not going to fight?"

"What, you still want to?"

"Not really," Sean admitted, "but since we're here and everything... let's just turn it into a spar or something. I spent a good amount of time training for this today. I still have my doubts, but this could be a step in the right direction as we make amends."

"A spar, right?"

"Yeah, a spar. That means you're not trying to hurt your opponent. You are capable of trying not to hurt people, right?"

"Bastard. Alright, this last Red vs. Blue match. After this, things will go back to normal before 2 years ago."

Or so Floyd thought...

For no sooner than he finished that sentence, Sean's backpack on the bench began to glow with a radiant light, causing everyone to stare at it.

Wendy, taking a few steps back along with Cinnamon, addressed Sean. "Is Sean seeing what Wendy's seeing?"

"I'm not sure," Sean replied as his backpack began to glow brighter each second. "I thought that prophecy was a dud when nothing happened after I finished reading it..."

"Prophecy? What are you guys talking about?" said Cinnamon. "Did you guys unleash the end of the world or something!?"

"Freshwater, what the hell did you do?!" screamed Sean.

"I...I... it's like..." Sean stammered. "Uh... You wouldn't believe me if I told you guys."

"Well, this is just _great_. I apologize to your dumbass, and now that's the last thing I'll ever be able to do, 'cause we're all gonna die!" Floyd exclaimed.

"Shut up! We're not gonna die!"

"How do you know that!?"

"Guys, look!" Wendy cried. Everyone turned just in time to see a thin white beam skyrocket upwards, tearing a hole in Sean's backpack. The light energy began to radiate around a point into a glowing sphere. After 10 seconds of swelling to an immense size, the light rapidly collapsed in on itself until nothing remained.

The four college students just stood there, dumbfounded.

Then, out of nowhere, an earth-shattering explosion occurred in the sky, sending brilliant light everywhere and knocking everyone on the campus grounds off their feet. If you looked up from the ground, you would swear that the sky turned a brilliant yellow. If you looked down from outer space, however, you would see that this brilliant light was spreading like a coating around the Earth. When the entire planet was covered, the light began to fade away, almost as if nothing happened.

Not that Sean, Wendy, Floyd, and Cinnamon could see it from any angle. The force of the blast knocked them unconscious.

* * *

"Douglas... what just happened?"

"You really think I could explain this, Silvia?"

"Well, any kind of explanation would make me feel better right now."

"I think it was a bomb or something, but nothing could produce that much light out of nowhere. And there's no smoke either... I'm glad you're okay, though. It looks like we're going to have to cancel dinner tonight. But I'll still come over to see if you're really okay."

"Thanks, Douglas. I could really use your company right about now."

"Right, I'll be there soon. Later."

As Douglas and Silvia hang up their cell phones, the same thing is constantly running through their minds: Just what the heck caused that?

* * *

"Well? What's happened?" Friday asked as Brooke placed her house phone back on the hook.

"Dad says he doesn't know. But he says it might be dangerous to go out. It looks like you'll be staying over with me," Brooke answered. "We gotta call your parents now so they'll know you're okay."

"I just hope everyone else is fine. Did aliens try to nuke the Earth or something?"

"I sure hope not," replied Brooke. "But I wouldn't worry too much. In H. G. Wells' _War of the Worlds_, the aliens couldn't survive because they weren't used to the bacteria on our planet."

"But what if it wasn't aliens?" Friday countered. "What if this was a man-made thing?"

"Then we'll have to wait and see what happens," surmised Brooke. If only it were that simple, though.

* * *

In the Lansat Mall, the scene could only be described as chaos. Frantic people were running over each other to get the essential goods needed for survival as well as other items needed needed to survive for a long time underground. Flashlights, batteries, golf clubs, clothes, blankets, etc. One woman was even bold enough to knock out the entire staff at a Baskin-Robbins booth to steal two half-full containers of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Dulce de Leche ice cream as a seemingly last indulgence.

W.A.R.P., however, had no people pillaging its shelves. This was because an iron gate sealed off the entrance to the store, and the store's employees were nowhere in sight. In the back room, one could find two people sitting cross-legged only a few inches across from each other, calm despite all the noise.

"It looks like Sean and Wendy read that prophecy," Celeste noted.

"So it seems," agreed Artemis. "However, this is only the beginning. Once the people manage to calm down a little bit, I shall call those two back to explain the... situation to them."

"Do you really think that the people would get used to them, sir? As of now, this world will never be the same no matter how things turn out."

"Anyone can get used to anything given time, Celeste. While this turn of events will shock some people, they will work their lives around it. Some might even embrace it. For now, we wait and see what happens. In the meantime, since we're stuck here until the chaos dies down, would you like to play a game? There's a Nintendo Wii in one of these boxes we can hook up to the television to pass the time. It'd let us know how some humans pass the time in a normal situation."

"Artemis, this is nothing similar to a normal situation."

"I'm aware. But don't forget: we're not normal, either," Artemis smirked.

Celeste rolled her eyes endearingly at her boss before giggling.


	5. Living in a Pokémon World

**Author's Note: It has been a LONG time since I updated this story. To anybody who follows this story, or any of my other stories, or me in general, I'm truly sorry. I'm a terrible updater and I hate that it took me this long to do even this. I want to say that I'll do a better job in the near future, but I can't say that, much less promise such a thing.**

**With that said, please enjoy the newest chapter of SU: CotB.**

**Disclaimer: , Even being gone for so long, I still do not own Pokémon. Nor do I profit from the writing of this story in which the only things I own are my OCs.**

* * *

Chapter 5: Living in a Pokemon World

"_If you're just joining us, reports have been confirmed of an intense light sprawling across the sky… As of the moment, no one is sure what could have possibly caused this to occur. We're not receiving word of whether or not this phenomenon is man-made, or natural, or even supernatural._

"_Some have likened it to Judgment Day or another premonition, including the end of the world as we know it… Wait, we're receiving more information…_

"… … …_Are you serious? But that's impossible!_

"…_Ahem. Apparently, the light has died down, and there have been sightings of… Pokémon. You heard right. Pokémon. The worldwide phenomenon that has captured the hearts of children is _real._ I can hardly believe it myself… Um, can we get an image up, please?"_

The television screen showed the view from outside the station of WQHB, the news center for Channel 13. On the front lawn were a small flock of Pidove, pecking at the ground. They took off before a duo of Poochyena ran into view for a few moments.

"_Those are definitely Pokémon, all right. I don't know their names… what I do know is that in the games, children collect them and then have them battle each other. On that note, parents, it is strongly advised that children should not approach them until we have more information about this situation as it stands…"_

On the living room couch, Sylvia flipped the channel to another news channel which talked about the sudden appearance of Pokémon. "A simple warning like that won't be enough to deter those children… or anyone for that matter."

Douglas nodded his head beside her. "I just hope that nobody gets attacked. Hopefully they'll realize that there's no point in trying to do so. Poke Balls don't exist, so they can't be captured. If they can't be captured, they can't be trained. Meaning, they can't be forced to battle other Pokémon."

Silvia turned her head to her lover/colleague, her long hair partially flung over her shoulder by the action. "You seem _really_ composed for someone who was just told that a children's fantasy game is real."

"Composed? I'm just trying to think logically about this."

"What logic could you have _possibly_ gathered from this situation? A bright light in the sky, and then the existence of Pocket Monsters. There's no way you can explain how that happened."

The English teacher put his hand to his chin in a thoughtful pose. "The light appeared, then Pokémon appeared. That's all we know for now. This is my reality and that of billions of others as well. I will say this, though: Someone or some_thing _knows the truth out there.

"It's just a matter of when or even _if_ it will be revealed to others…"

* * *

_Brooke grinned at her opponent, sure of her victory. A boy the same age as her, dressed in all green, looked worried about his Pokémon, a battered Staryu whose core blinked on and off._

"_We're still in this!" he shouted. "Staryu, use Recover!"_

_The Staryu immediately glowed green for a few moments. When the light died down, Staryu appeared to look a lot healthier than it did before."_

"_Alright. Now use Gyro Ball!" _

_Staryu got up and started spinning at a really fast speed. It launched itself towards Brooke's- _

"_Girafarig! Reflect!"_

_The Pokémon with a head for a tail closed its eyes and focused. Just before Staryu could hit it, a clear barrier formed between the two combatants from which the starfish bounced off._

"_Finish it with Zen Headbutt!" _

_Girafarig lowered its head, now glowing a light blue, and charged at the still recovering Staryu. The Star Shape Pokémon had no chance to dodge as Girafarig rammed its head into the core, effectively knocking it out._

_Brooke pumped both fists in victory…_

And Friday took the opportunity to tickle her.

After ten seconds of squealing and pleas to stop amidst fits of laughter, Brooke was released from her torment. "What was that for?" she asked.

"That was for trailing off like you always do." replied Friday. "You need to focus! Pokémon are real! Do you know what this means? The world as we know it will never be the same again!"

"I know, I know. But at the same time, think of the possibilities. We could witness a real battle between two Pokémon. We may even be able to keep one for a pet. It'll be awesome."

Friday shook her head at her best friend. "You're getting in over your head again."

* * *

Floyd was the first to awaken.

Squinting his eyes, he looked at the sky, still expecting it to be covered in that ethereal glow. To his surprise, the sky was as clear as it had ever been. It was almost as if nothing even happened. Sitting up, he looked over to where the other students lay on the concrete path.

He decided to go to Wendy first. Crawling over to her, he shook her shoulder a few times while calling her name. No response. Floyd tried a little harder until his best friend's eyes finally fluttered open.

"Ugh… Floyd?"

"Yeah, it's me. You ok?"

Wendy groaned a little more. "She thinks so… Where are Sean and Cinnamon?"

"I think they're still unconscious," said Floyd. "I'm gonna get Cin. You good to wake Freshwater?"

"Uh-huh…"

As Floyd made off in his girlfriend's direction, Wendy got to her knees, looking around before finding Sean sprawled out next to some bushes. She stood up wobbling, but managed to get her composure straight before walking towards him. Crouching, she nudged his side. "Sean… Sean!"

The bluenette's blue eyes suddenly shot open. "Wendy!" he cried before reaching up to embrace her. "Tell me you're alright."

"Wendy's fine," she smiled as they broke the hug. "How does Sean feel?"

"Physically or mentally?"

"Both."

"Alright. Physically, I feel okay. Mentally, I feel like I unleashed the end of days."

"Well, the sky is still blue, and there's still plant-life everywhere. Nothing looks irradiated... Wendy thinks Sean's good, for now." his girlfriend smiled.

Sean stood up and brushed himself off. "Where're Spears and Cinnamon?"

"Right behind you," said Cinnamon. Sean turned around to see her leaning on Floyd for support. "Whatever light you unleashed had some kick to it."

"Sorry, you guys…" replied Sean.

The four of them took a seat on the bench that Sean and Wendy were sitting on earlier. Floyd cleared his throat. "Freshwater, what in the hell did you do? Everything looks normal enough, but seriously… Something about a prophecy?"

Sean nodded. "Yeah. Wendy and I were shopping at Lansat Mall and we came across this store. We were sold some Poke Balls and the prophecy came with it for free."

"Did I hear you right? You said Poke Balls?" Floyd asked incredulously.

"Listen, I know what you're thinking, but they're the real deal, I think. Where's my… Ah!" Sean spotted his backpack near the fountain, got up to grab it, and returned with it in tow. Opening zippers, he rummaged around until he found the red and white capsules. "These!" He handed one to each of them.

"They're so small," remarked Cinnamon.

"Press the button and it gets bigger," Wendy offered.

Cinnamon did so, and the ball expanded to fit perfectly in her hand. Floyd did the same, and both were stunned beyond belief.

"How the… This is just like in the show!" cried Floyd. "What's this thing made of?"

"It's metal, I think." said Sean. "But I've never known metal to expand like this." He and Wendy both expanded their balls. "Now let me show you that prophecy." Shuffling through his backpack again, he found the scroll, unfurled it, and began to read while the others peered to look.

_In a time soon to be well known by all,_

_Creatures the likes of which man has known in fantasy_

_Will be projected onto his reality._

_Their arrival shall be heralded by a soaring light_

_That blankets all of Terra._

_Upon the dying of the light and the fading pulse,_

_The lines of perception and illusion will be mixed._

_But a return to the recent past will present itself_

_When one has seen and acknowledged all that the new world has offered._

No sooner than he had finished, all of them felt something warm in their hands: the Poke Balls. Each of them glowed intensely for a few seconds before dying down.

Sean looked at everyone; they stared at him. "You don't think…"

"Maybe," said Cinnamon. "Let me try something," She shook the ball in her hands. "It kind of feels a bit heavier now. Does this mean… there's a Pokémon inside? Let me try something else…"

'_I really hope I don't look like a nut for doing this.' _She thought before threw the ball into the air. "Come on out!"

To everyone's disbelief, the ball suddenly opened, spilling a dazzling light on the ground in front of everyone. It took shape, and dissipated to reveal itself:

"_Torkoal."_

Cinnamon gasped. "That… I-I-Is that real? Did that just really happen?" She bent down slowly and gently poked the Pokémon's shell. "Yes, this _is_ real. A real Pokémon.

"I… I have a Torkoal."

Nobody said anything for a long time; everyone staring at the Torkoal, who stared back. Floyd gathered his wits about him first. "Holy SHIT! Pokémon are _real!_"

"This… that prophecy... Pokémon _exist," _Sean reaffirmed, mostly to himself. "I made the fantasy of 10-year-olds everywhere a reality. But wait, I don't see any wild ones…"

"_Diglett!"_

Everyone looked down to see a Diglett between Wendy's feet. It cried out happily before disappearing into its hole.

"Um, there's a wild one…" suggested Wendy.

"But this Torkoal isn't wild, now is it?" said Cinnamon. "I'm its trainer. And that means I have to take care of it, sort of like a pet. If we all have Pokémon, then they have needs like us. Love, nourishment, shelter, someplace to use the bathroom… What would a Torkoal eat?"

"_I eat coal," _said Torkoal. _"Mostly coal, anyway."_

"And I can't even understand what it's saying, either… no, not 'it.' Is it a male or a female?"

"_I am male."_

Cinnamon looked at her Pokémon. "Wait. Female?"

Torkoal shook his head.

"Male, then."

A nod this time.

"Good. Um… should I give you a nickname like in the games? Something unique… How about… Basil?"

The Torkoal craned its head to the side, apparently in thought. _"Basil is good," _the Fire-type responded with a smile.

"Sweet! I now christen you… Basil!" announced Cinnamon. "Um… as your Trainer, I promise to look after your well-being and everything, ok?"

Basil smiled up at her, nuzzling her leg. Cinnamon stroked its head and shell before turning to her boyfriend. "You next, Floyd."

"Oh, alright then. Hope it's something good." Floyd stood up and tossed his Poke Ball in the air. "Come on out!"

Once again, light flowed from the capsule and dissipated to reveal the Pokémon inside.

"_Gallade!"_

"A Gallade!?" cried Sean. "Floyd, your Pokémon is fully evolved already!"

"Lucky," Wendy chimed in.

Floyd shrugged. "It's not like I've done anything." He then turned to his Pokémon. "Gallade, I'm Floyd, your trainer. Nice to meet you."

"_It is an honor to meet you as well, Master Floyd," _Gallade said, bowing. _"You may trust me to perform whatever it is you need of me."_

"You need a nickname like Cinnamon's Basil. Hmm… the blades. And I can definitely see you kicking some ass with style. Gallade are all male so… does Rondo sound good to you?"

"_If that is what you wish to call me, so be it."_

Basil plodded up to Rondo. _"So, another Pokémon."_

"_A Torkoal!" _cried Rondo. _"I assume you're the 'Basil' my master was talking about. It's a pleasure to meet you."_

"_Pleasure is mine," _said the Torkoal, nodding.

"Aww, look. They're interacting!" Wendy gushed. "Wendy wonders what kind of Pokémon she has. She's going to call hers out now." Everyone watched as Wendy tossed her ball. "Appear!"

A third flash of light took shape, but this one hovered in midair. The light surrounding the Pokémon faded.

"_Togetic!"_

"Togetic! Oh, it's so cute!" Wendy lightly hugged the hovering Pokémon, which blushed. Letting go so she could place her hands on its sides, Wendy took a good look at her Togetic. "This is Togetic's trainer, Wendy. She's glad to meet Togetic! Wendy hopes that the two of them will become close."

'_I can barely understand what she's saying,' _thought Togetic, _'but I'm sure she means well.' _Not sure what to say to her, Togetic kissed Wendy on the nose.

"I think the guy has a crush on you," joked Floyd.

"_Guy!?" _Togetic fluttered up to look Floyd in the eye, flailing its arms._ "I'm a girl! How can you not tell!?"_

Sean chuckled. "Floyd, I think you offended _her_."

"How did I offend- her? Oh, you're a girl," Floyd said.

"_Most of us Togetic are," _replied Togetic.

"Then she needs a name that fits," said Wendy. She put her finger to her chin while looking up. After a few moments of this, she cried, "Wendy's got it! Togetic's nickname will now be… Pix!"

Cinnamon nodded her approval. "She reminds you of a pixie, doesn't she?"

"_What's a pixie?" _asked Basil.

The voice caught Pix's attention. Noticing the other two Pokémon, she made her way over to them. _"Something like me, I guess. Small but cute? Anyway, who are you guys?"_

"_My name is Rondo, and this is Basil," _Rondo introduced. _"My master is the human male with the long red hair. Basil's master is the brown-skinned human."_

Pix looked over at Sean. _"What about him?" _she inquired.

"_So far, nothing,"_ Basil answered.

Wendy turned to her boyfriend. "Sean's the only one left. Let everyone see what Pokémon he has."

"Probably a Magikarp," joked Floyd.

"No, it's _not_ a Magikarp!" Sean shot back. "I believe my Pokémon is awesome. Let me show you."

He gripped the ball tightly in his hand before tossing it up. "Go, Pokémon!"

'_Please don't be a Magikarp…'_

PING!

The final ball opened, and convalesced into a small round shape with a crooked tail. The light around it suddenly disappeared.

"_Marill?"_

Sean smiled. "Marill! My favorite Pokémon, at that! What are the odds?"

"One in almost 500," remarked Wendy. "Or are there more than that?"

"Definitely more," Cinnamon affirmed. She plopped back onto the bench. "But, wow. We all have Pokémon."

"And mine needs a nickname just like the ones you guys have," said Sean. He knelt down and took a good look at the Marill, who stared back up at him. _'I wish I knew what you were like. Your personality and everything. Then I'd know what name to give you._

'_Maybe I could gauge from its gestures…' _"Do you like to battle?"

The Aqua Mouse Pokémon immediately responded, jumping up and down excitedly. _"Are you kidding? Of course I like to battle. I'm gonna be the strongest Pokémon you've ever seen!"_

Floyd laughed at Marill's enthusiastic response. "He's all fired up."

"Are you sure it's a guy this time?" Sean asked Floyd, getting a grunt out of him. He turned back to his Pokémon. "Are you a guy?"

"_Yep,"_ Marill nodded.

Sean thought to himself out loud. "A red, white, and blue ball of fur who loves to fight. How about… Blueball? But that kinda doesn't sit right… Powerball. Can it be shortened? P-Ball? Ugh, no… P.B.? Maybe… P.B., P.B…." The more Sean said it, the more appealing it sounded. "Marill. Your nickname is now Powerball, but we'll shorten it to P.B., okay?"

"_Sounds good to me."_

"Oh, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Sean. I'm your Trainer, obviously." He moved so that he was on P.B.'s side. "On the left is my girlfriend, Wendy. Next to her is her roommate, Cinnamon. On the far right is Floyd, my nemes- um, rival.

"All three of them have Pokémon as well. Why don't you go introduce yourself?"

P.B. looked to the left where he saw the other three Pokémon staring at him. He quickly made his way over to them.

"_And now we have a Marill in the group," _said Pix as she floated down to the ground. She extended a paw. _"Nice to meet you."_

P.B. shook her paw with his own. _"Nice to meet you as well. I'm P.B., and my goal in life is to kick more ass than any Marill has or ever will!" _

"_A fighter's spirit," _Basil observed, _"Or brash arrogance…"_

"_I'm not arrogant, Torkoal. …Uh, do you guys have nicknames like I do?_"

"_Sure we do. I am Basil."_

"_And I am called Rondo," _said the Gallade as he stepped forward. _"You wish to be strong?"_

P.B. had to take a few steps back to look at Rondo's face as he looked upward. _"Not just strong. The strongest ever. I'll defeat anyone and everyone who challenges me!"_

"_Even Rondo?" asked Pix, who floated into P.B.'s line of sight. "He looks tough to beat."_

"_Like I said, anyone and everyone," the Aqua Mouse Pokémon replied. "Nothing personal, though. And what's your name?"_

"_Oh, sorry. I'm Pix. Good luck with your goal."_

"_Thanks. So, what are you guys into?"_

The four humans watched as their Pokémon got to know each other better. Little did they know… or did they… that the four of them have become what many have secretly wished was a reality.

The first of their kind.

Pokémon Trainers.


End file.
